Open Your Eyes
by Mistynia
Summary: NaruSaku story. Sakura still thinks about Sasuke; she wants him to come home. But if she opens her eyes, she sees that there are more fish swimming in Konoha. No longer OneShot! Fluff ahead! R&R Please! COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! Long time no see. I'm Mistynia, formally known as Namonaki. Since I've got a major crush on the show Naruto (and Naruto himself gets shot), I decided to do a one-shot NaruSaku story. Because I just simply love the pairing. Naruto is somewhat taller then Sakura in this story, but this is not in Shippuuden. It's just in my own timeline, and who knows where that is?! So enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I think a guy named Masashi Kishimoto does that... Mhhh...

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

Inner Sakura ()

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Open Your Eyes 

"Sasuke-kun..." A quiet, soft voice said in the darkness. She stood there, again, at the same place where she tried to stop him from going. Sakura Haruno, one of the kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf village Konoha, stood there, looking at just darkness again, while the wind made her pink hair move slightly. She didn't took her emerald eyes away from where he once disappeared.

"_Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I will get him back! It's a promise of a lifetime!"_ She smiled a bit. She knows he is right. After all, he is Naruto Uzumaki, her team-mate, her friend, the one on who she could rely on. The blond-haired boy with bright blue eyes, that was always full with life when she saw him.

"But how can we find him...?" She whispered, looking down. 'We don't know were he is, we don't know what Orochimaru is doing to him... Maybe he is already dead...' Sakura shook her head wildly. 'No! He is not dead... He... he's strong!' Yes, because he is Sasuke Uchiha. The second last one of the Uchiha clan. Dark, sometimes with a mysterious blue shade, black hair and just plain black eyes, which could transform in the Sharingan. He then gained the look of a vicious person, with his eyes as red as blood. But he wasn't the only one. He has one brother, the one who killed the entire clan; Itachi Uchiha.

"That's why he left," Sakura whispered. "to kill his older brother. To gain strength to do that." Sakura wrapped her arms around her. She only had a red, thin, long vest without sleeves and green knee length shorts wearing. Standing there in the wind all the time makes it cold after a while.

'I don't want to go back, maybe he's coming back right now! I mean, if he comes back, I want to be there to... to welcome him! And give him a slap in the face. But... I'll probably get weak in the knees again...' Sakura laughed a nervous laugh.

Sakura now shivered. Tears appeared in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. 'I'm so stupid... Crying again over him. I don't want it to look like that I can only cry, because I promised Naruto... I will get stronger, for the both of them!'

Sakura shivered again. Suddenly, she felt something warm on her shoulders. She looked behind her. A gently smile was seen on a young boy's face.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan? You'll catch a cold like that." Naruto said, still his hands on her shoulders.

Sakura looked surprised, "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

Naruto still had a gentle smile on his face, his blue eyes looked even bigger in the dark. It was clearly to see that he wore the same thing he always does; An orange pants and a black T-shirt. Sakura had his jacket, which was also orange, and a bit of blue on the front and the back and a white collar. "I could ask you the same question. I was looking for you. I hadn't seen you at all this afternoon-"

She cut him off, "You were worried about me?" She asked, her eyes wide, as if no one ever worried about her.

Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. I mean, Konoha isn't that big, you know."

Sakura smiled, a soft expression on her face. "Thank you, Naruto..."

Naruto blushed like mad now, "N-no problem, Sakura-chan." He tried to shake his blush off by changing the subject, "S-so, what are you doing here, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's smile disappeared again. "Oh, well... nothing important really..." She turned away from him, looking at where she was staring at before, holding Naruto's jacket that was over her shoulders tightly.

Naruto looked with her, seeing the same as she did; darkness. "Are you... expecting someone?"

Sakura still looked forward, hiding her face from Naruto. "No... no, not really."

"Sakura-chan... is it Sasuke?" Although Naruto doesn't want to talk about her crush, he didn't want to see _his _crush sad.

Sakura quickly turned around after hearing his name. "What? How do you-"

Naruto cut her off, "Sakura-chan, did you forget my promise? I will save him, remember? I'll bring him back! And you... you'll be happy again..." While he said that last sentence, although he was smiling, he had a look of sadness in his eyes. He tried to hide it, of course, but Sakura could see it clearly.

"Naruto... I don't want you to do it alone. I want to help you, that's what _I _said, right? I'm going to become stronger, and if we save Sasuke... then we'll both be happy, we'll be a team again."

"Yeah, three-men's cell, huh?" Naruto said, grinning.

Sakura smiled too, "Right." Sakura stopped smiling and looked at Naruto. He seemed to be... glowing. "Naruto...?"

Naruto stopped grinning, but a smile didn't left his face, "Mh?" He simply replied. The two looked at each other for a while. Neither of them said something, until Sakura took a step forward and hugged Naruto.

"S-Sakura-chan! What are you-" Naruto stuttered, as his crush hugged him, and it felt like she hugged him with everything she got.

"Shhh..." She said, with her eyes closed, listening to his fastened heart beat. "Let's just... stay like this for a while, please?"

Naruto gulped, but put is arms around Sakura, "S-sure..." Naruto smelled the scent of strawberries coming from Sakura. He loved the smell. He wouldn't mind if they stayed longer like this.

Sakura sighed, a rather happy sigh. She felt comfortable and safe in Naruto's arms, something she would never feel if she would have done this with him when she just met him. Naruto smelled like the woods, and a bit like the winter. It seemed that this scent relaxed Sakura, as she inhaled it deeply.

Although neither of them wanted to admit it to each other, they liked this very much. As much as they wanted to stay like this, they knew it had to end soon; it was getting late.

Surprisingly, Naruto was the first one who pulled away, "Sakura-chan, it's getting late... Maybe we should go home."

Nodding, but a little disappointed, Sakura agreed, "Yes, we should."

Naruto smiled, "I'll walk you home, ok?" Sakura nodded, and they walked home together.

No one said something along the way, but they didn't had to; they enjoyed each others company anyway.

As they walked, they suddenly noticed that they were already at Sakura's house.

"Well, here we are, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as Sakura walked up at her door.

"Yeah," She said quietly. They didn't know what else to say.

Naruto shuffled his feet a bit, "Well, guess I'll be going now."

Sakura nodded, "Thanks for walking me home, Naruto."

Naruto smiled, "No problem, Sakura-chan! I'll see you tomorrow again?"

Sakura nodded again, without saying a word. Naruto began to walk away, until he heard Sakura call out to him.

"Ah, Naruto? If... if you don't have anything tomorrow... would you like to go and eat some ramen with me at Ichiraku's?"

Naruto's eyes went wide and the biggest smile was seen on his face, "Yeah! I-I mean, yeah, sure, Sakura-chan, that sounds great!"

"But remember, it's not a date!" She warned him.

Naruto smiled with his eyes closed, "No problem, I don't mind! See ya tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" And with that, Naruto sped way.

Sakura let out a little giggle as she saw him disappearing in the dark, before she went inside.

**Shannaro! You have a date!** Her inner Sakura yelled. 

Sakura blushed, "I-it's not a date!" She said out loud, "It's just a friendly dinner, that's all!"

**Tsch, yeah, at **_**his **_**favourite ramen restaurant! Open your eyes girl and see Sasuke's competition! **

"W-what? Competition over me? N-no, I have a big forehead!" Sakura said, as trying to come up for an excuse.

**... Right, well, see for yourself tomorrow. Try and look dazzling! **

"You mean the things I always wear?" Sakura said, mocking her other self.

**Whatever! I'm out!**

Sakura giggled, already looking forward to tomorrow. 'Strange...' She said to herself.

Just when Sakura was about to go upstairs, she noticed something; "Ah! I still have Naruto's jacket!" She said, as she took his jacket in her hands. She secretly smelled at it, smiling.

"Looks like, another reason to see him tomorrow."

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Done! I know, it's not that long, and I think for the first time in my fics: no kissing! I tried to do more fluff now. Even if I made the characters a bit OOC, but meh, I'm happy with it.

Review, if you would be so kindly 


	2. Preparation and Confusion

Wow, I can't believe I'm continuing this xD But, I'll do it for you guys (actually a bad timing, 'cause I have to go to work again in about a week) Anyway, no longer one-shot, but defiantly NaruSaku.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

**Chapter 2: preparation and confusion**

The next day came quick. Too quick, if you could ask Sakura. What exactly happened last night? She waited for Sasuke, _again_. But that night, it was different. Someone came for _her_. She knows it was not a dream, she remembers it so clearly. And if she still thought it was a dream, she just had to look besides her to see the jacket of the blonde-haired boy who was with her that night.

"_Let's just..._ _stay like this for a while, please?"_ Sakura closed her eyes. She could still feel his warmth. She felt so safe in his arms, like nothing could hurt her, because Naruto Uzumaki protected her.

She suddenly giggled, like she remembered a good joke. She remembered that she asked him out... no, just a friendly dinner.

"What was I thinking?" She asked herself out loud. "Should I cancel it? No, no... I'm not backing down. This is gonna be... a thank you, yes, that's it!" She clenched her fists. Why was she feeling so nervous? It wasn't the first time she went out to dinner together with Naruto.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted; "Sakura, dear? Can you run some errands for me, please?" Her mother called from downstairs.

She sighed, she hated to run errands, but maybe it was good to take her thoughts off Naruto. "Yes, mom, I'll do it right away!"

**-Konoha Market Street-**

"Let's see... toilet paper, bread, butter and... ramen?" Sakura read out loud, and stopped at the word 'ramen'. Just when she thought she at least forgot about it for an hour, she started seeing Naruto's sweet smile from last night. That did not better her mood. Her heart was beating faster, only because the thought about Naruto. It couldn't be.. no... it's not the same as when she thought about Sasuke. When she thought about Sasuke, she would squeal and shout to everyone that she loved the boy. She would be all giggly and dreaming about what could be, even though she was wide awake.

But when she thought about Naruto, her heart would beat faster, and a blush would be seen on her face. She would look down to the ground, not facing anybody, seeming as if she was a really shy girl. Her thoughts were completely on this one boy, and only because of what happened last night? Or... did it already happened earlier, in one of their missions?

Thought she didn't wanted to admit it, it felt nice to think about him. It gave her the feeling that she was alive. Her thoughts weren't in the real world anymore, they were floating somewhere, in space. She just walked straight past people, also past people she knew very well, too well.

"Well, I wouldn't think I would see you on Market Street, with your _big forehead_!" A taunting, yet very familiar voice called out to Sakura. Ino had a grin on her face, her icy blue eyes looking at the pink-haired girl, knowing Sakura would say something back. But Sakura didn't even twitch; she just kept walking while looking down.

This ticked Ino off; "Hey, Sakura! I'm talking to you!" Ino ran after her, not liking that Sakura ignored her. Ino stood before her, her blonde hair in a ponytail and her usual purple outfit; a purple skirt and purple vest with white arm warmers. This made Sakura come to a halt. She looked up, seeing the ticked off face of Ino.

"Oh, hey Ino..." Sakura said. You could clearly hear that she wasn't totally back to the real world.

Ino saw the absent look on Sakura's face, which made her a bit worried. She knew that Sakura thought about Sasuke almost everyday. She was positive that Sakura thought about him right now.

"Sakura, you... wanna talk about it?" Those last words made Sakura come back to the real world. Ino offered something to Sakura? Did she heard that clear?

"W-what?" Sakura asked in shock.

Ino sighed, "I said, you wanna talk about it?" Was it so obvious? That she thought about Naruto? Did she said his name out loud? Did she mumbled something about last night?

"Huh?" Sakura asked again.

Ino, this time, made a growl; "About Sasuke-kun, I'm talking about Sasuke-kun! Geez, it's obvious your thinking about him!"

"Sasuke-kun...?" To tell the truth, Sakura completely forgot about Sasuke.

Suddenly, Ino grabbed her shoulders and shook her, rather hard. "Wake up, girl! Sasuke Uchiha-kun, the bishounen from our very own village?!"

Ino stopped shaking Sakura, but strangely, Sakura did not get mad; "Ah, no... not this time."

Ino looked stunned, her mouth wide open; "No?! What are you talking about?! Ever since Sasuke-kun left, you haven't thought about anything else!" Sakura looked to her side, her eyes downcast.

Ino sighed again, "Sakura, what is it? Can't you talk about it? I... want you help you." That is true. Even Though Sakura is Ino's arch rival when it comes to Sasuke, she was still her best friend. Because the memories of the past will never go away.

Though Sakura was shocked, she knew she could count on Ino. But... she couldn't tell her about Naruto. About last night, about tonight. Ino would just laugh hard in her face. But, Sakura didn't knew what she should do. This was just so confusing for her. Did Naruto became something more to her? Her best male-friend, that's for sure. But, should she feel the way she feels right now about her best male-friend?

She wanted to talk to Ino about it, she just had to change her story a bit. "Well," She began, "it's about a boy-" But she already was cut off by Ino.

"Someone who's _not_ Sasuke-kun?!" She asked eyes-wide.

"Y-yeah..." Sakura said, rather soft.

"Are you in love with him?! Who is it?! Is it someone from another village?!"

"Ino! Can I please tell it without any interruptions?" Sakura said, a bit annoyed because of Ino's questions.

"Yes, yes, of course, continue." Ino said, giving Sakura the opportunity to continue.

"Well, it's about a boy. No, I won't say a name, and no, he is from this village. And... I'm not sure if I'm in love with him... That's what... worries me..."

"It worries you? How come?" Ino asked.

"Because... I have these feelings, but I can't just understand them." Sakura said, looking down again.

Suddenly, Ino grabbed her hand, and led her outside the Market Street. "Come," She said, "we'll talk further on a much more quiet place." She led Sakura to a wooden bench, where they sat.

"Now, what kind of feeling do you have when you think about him?" Ino asked, in a soft voice.

"My heart beats fast," Sakura said, as she placed her hand on the spot where her heart was. "I blush like crazy, but it feels nice..." Sakura looked at Ino, waiting for her to say something.

"Well, Sakura, do you want to be with this person? As in, being close to him, being in his arms?"

Sakura took a moment before she answered; "Well, I don't know... I've always been with-" Sakura stopped. If she would say that she's always been with Naruto because they are team mates, no would know in an instant. "I-I mean, I've seen him a lot, so I've always been close to him." She hoped Ino would buy that.

Luckily, she did, "Hm, I see. And you felt nice while being around him, right?"

"Lately, yes." Sakura said, thinking about last night.

"Sakura... I can't say if you are in love or not with this guy. You're the only one who can. I can just say that you have to take your time with deciding. Try not to think about it too much, though, it will only confuse you more. Just try to do things with him, just the two of you. Like, take a walk, or go to dinner." Ino said, with softness in her voice, meaning every word she said.

"Actually, I'm going to dinner tonight with him." Sakura said, with a blush on her face.

"Are you serious?!" Ino almost screamed. "That was fast! So you already took the first step, huh?" Sakura nodded, still blushing. Ino noticed a little smile on her face, meaning she was feeling a bit better. This made Ino feel relaxed.

"Sakura, this may sound really, really cliché, but... You can only listen to your heart." Ino smiled.

Sakura smiled too, "You know, that really sounds cliché."

"Shut up, forehead-girl!"

"Whatever, Ino-pig!" Everything was normal again. Thought Sakura didn't yet knew what she felt for Naruto, Ino's words made her feel relaxed. "But really, thank you Ino."

Ino smiled, "No problem, Sakura." The two smiled at each other for a short while, until Sakura broke their silence.

"Ahhh! The errands! I have to pick up things for my mom!" This seemed to scare Ino, as if she remembered something.

"Ahhh! Me too! Gotta go Sakura! Have fun tonight!" Ino said as she stood up fast and ran towards Market Street.

"Yeah, thanks Ino, bye!" Sakura said, as she also stood up and ran towards the other side of Market Street.

**-Later-**

"Phew, thank God I've got everything before they closed." Sakura said as she carried a bag with groceries.

She felt happy after her talk with Ino, and was already looking forward to tonight.

"Sakura-chan!" A voice yelled behind her. She knew it very well, and at that moment, her heart skipped a beat.

"Ah, Naruto!" She said, hoping she didn't blushed, as she saw him run towards her.

"Sakura-chan, about tonight..." Naruto began.

'Oh, no. He's not cancelling tonight, right?' She thought, but Naruto continued.

"What time should I pick you up?" Naruto asked, with a big grin on is face.

Sakura let out a little sigh of relief. "Uhm, how's about seven?" Sakra suggested.

"Perfect! I'll pick you up at seven! See you then, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved goodbye before he ran away.

A little breeze went trough Sakura's hair as she watched Naruto run off towards the sunset.

"I'm looking forward to it..." Sakura whispered, as she headed home, to prepare herself for her night out with Naruto.

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Too much letters... next chapter, the date... hungry.. R&R please!


	3. It’s Not a Date!

Already the third chapter? Yes, 'cause I have the ending, I just need to get there X3 Enjoy this chapter!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Yesss...

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**Chapter 3: It's not a date!**

"No...no... argh! These clothes are all no good!" Sakura yelled, as she tried to pick out an outfit for her dinner with Naruto.

"Wait, we're only going to go to Ichiraku's. No need to dress up." She made a nervous laugh. She looked at her clock; 6.30. Only a half an hour until Naruto comes.

Suddenly someone knocked on her door, and before Sakura could say something, her mother barged in; "Oh, Sakura, dear! Do you want to know what I wore at your dad and I first date?"

"No," Sakura replied, a bored look on her face. "and I don't want to know."

But her mother continued, "Oh, our first date was so romantic! Although we didn't go to a ramen bar..." Her mother said, while placing a hand under her chin, as if she was trying to go back to that time.

"Mom!" Sakura almost screamed, blushing. "It's not a date! Just a friendly dinner! I want to thank him!"

"Oh dear, everyone denies it, I know how you feel. But don't worry, I won't tell a soul. Now, who was it again?" He mother asked, a smile on her face.

Sakura sighed, "Naruto mom. Naruto Uzumaki." As soon as she said his name, her mother's smiling face turned into a white, scared one.

"W-what?" Her mother asked. Sakura clearly could hear the shock in her voice.

This made Sakura a it uncomfortable; "Y-yeah, you know mom. Naruto, my team mate? You know, our Genin group?" Darn, Sakura never told her mother that.

"I forbid it!" Her mother suddenly screamed out. Sakura was sure that everyone who was outside could hear it.

Sakura was shocked, her eyes wide. "W-what? Why?"

Her mother explained, "That boy is a monster! Don't you know what happened 15 years ago? How many people have died-"

"That is _not_ Naruto's fault!" Sakura retorted. They still thought Naruto was like that, that he was the same as the Nine-Tailed Fox, who killed many Konoha Shinobi 15 years ago.

"No, but he has that monster inside him! That also makes _him _a monster!"

"How could you...?" Sakura whispered, "Naruto never choose to have the Kyuubi sealed inside him..." Tears formed in her eyes. She could see young Naruto standing there, alone, with no one who cared for him. Oh, how she wanted to go to him. To play with him, to see him smile. Sakura clenched her fists, "He didn't even had a choice! It's all the 4th Hogakes fault!"

"The 4th Hogake saved us! Don't you dare say that!" Her mother said.

"And don't you dare to say that Naruto is a monster! He is one of the best Shinobi in this village. You don't even know him!"

"I know him well enough because of the past-"

Sakura cut her off, "No you don't!" She walked to the door, with Naruto's jacket in her right hand. "You know what, _mother_? I don't care what you say. I trust Naruto, I know Naruto. He isn't like the people here say he is." Sakura began walking downstairs, her mother still at the doorway of Sakura's room.

"Sakura, if you go, you're grounded for the rest of your life!" He mother yelled.

Sakura didn't look at her as she opened the front door. "That's a risk I'm gladly to take." She went outside and slammed the door hard behind her.

Her mother sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't stop her, she is just like me... I was exactly the same when my mother told I couldn't date my husband." She smiled a bit. "Well, I guess... I should trust Sakura's heart on this one."

**-Outside-**

Sakura sighed. It's true, she never told her mother about Naruto. Even that he was one of her team mates. She only talked about Sasuke.

Sakura sighed again, and sat on the floor. She looked at her watch; only 5 minutes until Naruto would arrive.

She looked up, to the sky, "It looks like it's gonna be a starry night."

"Sakura-chan!" She heard a yell coming from her right. She knew immediately who it was.

She stood up, "Naruto!" She waved, letting him know that she stood there. He waved back, a big smile on his face. She could clearly see what he was wearing; a simple orange T-shirt with black pants. He didn't had his headband on, and somehow, Sakura thought he looked cute with his bangs just above his eyes.

He finally reached Sakura. "Sakura-chan! Were you waiting here long?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I just got outside." She saw a sudden blush on Naruto's face.

"Uhm, y-you look nice, Sakura-chan." Sakura looked at her clothes. She had a combination on she tried earlier; she was dressed in a red skirt with her symbol on it that reached just above her knees. She was also wearing a green/blue tank top with a thin, white vest to make it complete. She had her hair in a ponytail, and also didn't had her headband on.

She smiled, "Thank you Naruto. You look pretty good yourself too."

Naruto grinned, his hands behind his head. "Hehe, don't I? Special for tonight."

Sakura giggled, "Naruto, remember, it's not a-"

But Naruto cut her off, "I know, I know. It's not a date. But... It's still special to me."

Sakura looked at him, with quite a shocked look on her face. "Huh?"

"Because," He said, looking into her eyes. "I'm together with Sakura-chan, that's all that matters for me."

Sakura blushed, her heart beating faster. "I... Uhm, Naruto...-" But she was cut off by a strange sound, yet familiar.

Naruto put his hand on his stomach. "Ah-haha... I guess I'm hungry..." Sakura giggled, finding it quite amusing.

"Shall we, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, with outstretched arm, which Sakura took gladly.

"Lead the way." Sakura said, as they began to walk.

But after a few steps, they stopped. Naruto turned to look at Sakura with big eyes. "You don't know the way to Ichiraku's?!"

Sakura twitched, before giving him a smack on the head. "Just walk, baka!" They began to walk again, Naruto touching his bump, unable to notice that Sakura gave a slight giggle.

**-At Ichiraku's-**

"Here you go; two miso ramen!"

"Thank you, old man!" Naruto said as he began to dig in. "Itadakimasu!" Both he and Sakura said.

You just had to blink, or Naruto had his bowl already empty. "Second, please!"

Sakura stopped eating and looked at her bowl; something was on her mind. "Naruto..." She began, and Naruto looked up.

"Mh?"

"About yesterday..." Sakura said, as she stopped. Naruto blushed as he remembered the hug.

Sakura continued; "I'm sorry."

This took Naruto off guard. "Huh? Why?"

"I... was a burden again for you..." She looked down, not wanting to face Naruto.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? You weren't a burden for me, and you'll never will. You know that." Wanting to touch her shoulder, but she turned away so that he couldn't reach.

"Then why do I see myself as a burden for you? Yesterday... I was waiting for _him_ again. And every night, when I go home, I feel so weak. And when you came yesterday... I was so ashamed, that you saw me like this. Especially after I told you that I would become stronger."

"Sakura-chan, you don't have to do that alone. Although I don't really understand it, because you are already strong in my eyes, I want to help you reach your goal. No matter what it takes."

"Naruto..." Sakura said, with tears in her eyes. This alarmed Naruto.

"A-ah, I'm sorry Sakura-chan! Did I hurt you? Did I say something bad?"

Sakura wiped her tears away with a smile on her face, "No, Naruto... You didn't say anything wrong... Thank you."

Naruto gave a little sigh of relief, and smiled at her. Sakura smiled back, feeling strangely happy at this moment.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss..." Sakura and Naruto quickly looked at the owner, with looks that could kill.

"It's nothing like that, you hentai!" They both screamed, before the owner turned away, to make some more ramen. Although they both went quiet after that, they blushed at what the owner said.

What if...?

**-After dinner-**

"Ahhh! That was great!" Naruto said, as he stretched his arms under the bright night sky.

"It sure was." Sakura said, smiling. "I really enjoyed tonight, Naruto."

Naruto blushed, but had a sweet smile on his face. "Me too, Sakura-chan. Should I walk you home?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes, thank you Naruto." But as soon as they left, Sakura was beginning to shiver. There was a cold wind blowing, even though it was summer. She made a little whimper, and held her arms around her. As soon as she did that, she felt something warm around her shoulders. She looked up, and saw that Naruto placed his jacket around her shoulders, again. Naruto wore a gentle smile on his face.

Sakura began to blush, "Thanks, Naruto."

"Well, we can't have you getting sick, right Sakura-chan?"

There it was again. That strange, warm feeling. The feeling that made her felt safe. The feeling that made her feel loved.

The feeling that she never had with Sasuke.

She tightly shut her eyes and began shaking her head. Of course, this did not go unnoticed.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Don't you feel well?" Naruto asked worried, as he stood before her.

Suddenly, tears fell down on the ground, making Naruto even more worried. "Sakura-ch-"

"I'm sorry, Naruto... I'm so sorry..." He could hear fear in her voice, like she's scared of something.

"I want to save him... I want to save Sasuke-kun..." Sakura's voiced trembled.

Of course, Sasuke. Naruto knew he would never stand a chance against him when it comes to Sakura. He wanted to save him too, of course.

What was she saying? Of course she wants to save Sasuke, but that's not what she felt right now. Did she made this up? Just to not blow her cover?

She heard feet shuffle, and suddenly, two arms were wrapped around her. Those same arms.

Sakura closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest; but she was not hugging him back. She wouldn't care if anyone saw her at that moment. She just kept on crying, as Naruto kept hugging her.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I want him back too. We'll do it together. We'll get him back." Naruto said, closing his eyes. He would do anything for Sakura, even though it would hurt himself.

He pushed her softly off him, but he was still holding her shoulders. She was not facing him; she still looked down, with tears streaming down her face.

"I know..." She said softly. "I know, Naruto..."

He smiled softly as he put his index finger under her chin, making her look up. "Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Let this not ruin our night."

She giggled a bit. "This wasn't a date, Naruto." She said as she wiped her tears.

"Ah, darn..." He sighed. "Well, shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall." Sakura replied as they began to walk again.

Their walk was quiet, and before they knew it, they were in front of Sakura's house.

"Well," Naruto began. "here we are again." Sakura only nodded.

She suddenly jumped and took the jacket off her shoulders; she handed them to Naruto. "Here, before I forget to give it to you again." She smiled.

'She's beautiful...' Naruto thought, as he saw her smile, which made him smile too.

He took the jacket. "Thanks, I really had a great time, you know."

Sakura nodded, "Me too..."

It stayed quiet for a bit, wile a strong wind suddenly swept Sakura in Naruto's arms.

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" Naruto asked, as he catches her before she could fall down.

She quickly stood up, still in his arms, blushing. "Ah, sorry, I didn't knew the wind was that strong." She giggled nervously.

She looked into his eyes, and noticed they were almost hypnotising. And it seemed he thought the same thing about her eyes. They moved in closer, as if something pushed them from behind. They eyes almost closed, while they reached in...

"Sakura, come inside! Or you'll maybe wake the neighbours!" Her mothers voice called from above.

Quickly, they pushed each other away, blushing.

Sakura cleared her throat, "Uhm, I guess... I go inside now...? So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uhm, yeah... I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

"Goodnight, Naruto." Sakura said, as she saw Naruto walk off yet again.

She opened her door, and as soon as she closed it behind her, she had a shocked look on her face.

"What... just happened?!"

&&&&&&&&&&

Phew, done. Wai, they almost kissed! Yeah, they are 15 (changed ages!) there, but they are grown up for their age xD I have some plans for action scenes, so I'm changing the rating. No matter, though.

R&R please!


	4. Teacher!

I just wanna say thank you. Every one of you for those wonderful reviews. Also to those who faved my story. It feels great, you know?

Enjoy chapter 4!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 4: Teacher!**

The next day wasn't a typical summer day; it was raining. But that didn't take Sakura's mood down. Almost every half hour, she let out a happy sigh. Even when she was training to become a medical ninja.

This did not go unnoticed by Tsunade; the fifth Hokage of Konoha. Tsunade wanted to know what was going on with Sakura. And when the Hokage wants to know something, she will get the answer.

When Sakura let out another happy sigh, Tsunade decided to ask; "Sakura, what's wrong? You're not concentrating on that fish before you at all."

It's true; Sakura was given, again, the assignment to revive the fish with her medical ninjutsu. The sudden talking of Tsunade startled Sakura a little. "Ah, it's nothing, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry..." Sakura said, as she stretched her arms out above the fish, while a green glow came out of her hands.

Tsunade sighed, and walked over to Sakura. Sakura looked up as Tsunade stood besides her, always amazed of how beautiful she looked; her long, blonde hair was in two ponytails and a little crystal-like object on her forehead. She wore a long, green jacket and under a grey vest with black pants.

"Sakura, you know you can't lie. I can see clearly that something happened. Something good, as I can judge from your sighs." Tsunade said, as she looked at Sakura with a small smile on her face.

'I... sighed out loud?' Sakura thought, blushing. 'That obvious, huh?'

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But don't let it affect your training."

"Ah, n-no, Hogake-sama! I... I want to talk about it... Because... I think you might be able to help..." Sakura said, carefully choosing her words.

"Ah, is it about love?" Tsunade said, immediately hitting the right spot.

Sakura went wide-eyed. "How do you know that?!"

Tsunade grinned, "Ah, but I know everything about love!" Tsunade laughed, a rather maniacally laugh.

'Is she serious?' Sakura thought, as she looked at Tsunade.

"Well, who is it?" Tsunade asked right after she was done laughing. "Do I know him?"

Sakura blushed again, "Yeah..."

"Who is it, tell me already!" Tsunade suddenly burst out.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered, soft, but hard enough for Tsunade.

She was clearly shocked. "That punk?!" Sakura hid her eyes, blushing furiously.

Tsunade continued; "And you are in love with him?"

"I don't know... I mean, I never saw him that way, I never thought about it that way. It was always... Sasuke." Sakura explained.

Tsunade sighed, and motioned to Sakura to sit down on the ground. Sakura did as she was told, as she sat down.

"Are you still thinking about him, Sasuke that is?" Tsunade asked.

"I waited for him again, two days ago..." Sakura said, holding her knees.

"Sakura-"

"I know... I just can't help it."

"Do you still love him?" Tsunade asked, actually startling Sakura.

"I don't know anymore..." Sakura said, but immediately continuing. "When I waited for Sasuke, Naruto came. He said he was worried about me. He knew I was waiting for Sasuke, he just never said it. He cared for me, and I never noticed until that night, that he always cared for me. I was so stupid that I didn't looked _beyond_ Sasuke."

"That's what you learn in due time. And sometimes you have to learn it the hard way."

"But that isn't helping me." Sakura said, actually wanting to hear some advice.

"I know it's not, but what do you feel yourself?" Tsunade asked.

"Confused." Sakura answered bluntly.

Tsunade laughed; she knew she would get such a obvious answer. "Well, what can you do?"

"You tell me, I don't have a clue. Naruto is nice. He gives me a nice, warm and safe feeling. And I just feel, that I want to hang out with him some more."

"Doing so to sort out your feelings?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura nodded. Suddenly, Tsunade showed her a piece of paper.

Sakura took it, and read it out loud; "'The summer festival is here! Don't miss it, there's going to be fireworks at the end of the festival. Lot's of fun games and lot's of food.'" Sakura was quiet for a while, looking at the poster.

She looked up at Tsunade; "You're saying I should go to the festival with Naruto?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, why not? It's tomorrow night. To sort out your feelings, right?" Tsunade smiled with her eyes closed.

Sakura smiled back, "Yeah, that's what I'm going to do!"

Sakura stood up, and headed for the door. She suddenly stopped, and turned around to face Tsunade. "Is it ok that I leave now, Hogake-sama? I really want to invite Naruto right now."

Tsunade smiled; "Of course. But when you come to training again, I do not want you out of it again, alright?"

"Yes!" Sakura said happily, as she walked out the door.

Tsunade sighed, "Aaah, young love is the best. Do your best, my precious student."

**-Outside-**

'Darn, I should've brought an umbrella with me from inside...' Sakura thought, as she ran in the rain, on to Naruto's house. But she didn't care about the rain, though. She found it rather relaxing.

'There it is!' Sakura arrived at Naruto's house. But she didn't even knew if he was home. She knocked on his door. Nothing. She called his name. Nothing. She jumped on the roof so that she could see his room. No one was inside.

'He's not home?!' Sakura thought as she jumped down again. 'Great, now I'm soaked.' Just as when she was about to go home, the felt that the rain had stopped.

"Huh?" She asked out loud, as she could see it was still raining in front of her.

"It seems that you keep forgetting things these days, Sakura-chan." A sweet, caring voice said.

Sakura looked behind her as she saw Naruto standing there holding an umbrella above her head.

Somehow, she was relieved to see his smiling face, but she kept her cool; "Where were you, baka?! I've looked for you everywhere!"

Naruto winced, "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! But there was a sale on ramen, I just had to get it!" He said, showing the plastic bag to Sakura; indeed, it was full of instant ramen cups.

Sakura giggled; she should've known. Naruto and his stomach.

"So, what are you doing here, Sakura-chan? Do you need something?"

"Ah, well, I want to ask you something..." Sakura began, but was cut off by Naruto.

"Ah, Sakura-chan. Tell it to me inside. You are soaked! Come, I have towels in my house." Naruto said, as he opened his door.

Sakura, though, looked shocked. 'Inside his house...? I've... never been in his house. Get a grip, Sakura girl! He's just being polite.' She shook her head, as she followed Naruto inside.

"Here you go!" Naruto said grinning, while handing Sakura a towel.

"Thanks," Sakura said, while drying herself. Without herself noticing, she sat on his bed.

"So, Sakura-chan, what's on your mind?" Naruto asked, as he put away the instant ramen cups.

"Ah, right. Look at this Naruto!" Sakura said, as she grabbed the poster from her pocket. But the poster was soaking wet.

"Ah, it's wet!" Sakura said, not expecting that.

Naruto laughed, "No matter, what was on it?"

"Well, there's going to be a festival tomorrow, and-"

"Ah! I've seen a poster of that! Free food!" Naruto said, drool coming from his mouth at the mention of food.

Sakura twitched, "That's not what I wanted to say... Naruto-"

"Shall we go together?" They both said at the same time. They blinked, but laughed after that.

"Of course I wanna go with you, Sakura-chan! Even if you didn't asked me today, I still would've asked you." Naruto grinned, sitting next to her on his bed.

"I'm glad, Naruto." Sakura said, smiling also.

"So, you're gonna go in those traditional kimono's?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked up, like she was thinking about her answer; "Mh, I don't know. I don't think a kimono is really my thing."

"Well, it doesn't matter, Sakura-chan! You would look pretty anyhow." Naruto said grinning, half blushing.

This made Sakura blush like mad, though. She looked at Naruto, checking if he meant it. Naruto stopped grinning, and looked at Sakura, still smiling.

He meant it.

They were again so close. She could easily reach in. He could easily reach in.

"Ah, N-Naruto, I forgot. I have to do some errand for my mother. I have to go." Sakura quickly sputtered, handing him his towel. "Thanks for lending me this. I'll see you tomorrow, I'll be waiting at the entrance for you at 7, ok? Bye." Sakura said, as she quickly ran outside, a blush clearly seen on her face.

"A-ah, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, but it went unheard; Sakura was already too far away.

"Sakura-chan..."

&&&&&&&&

Haha, it's going to happen next chapter! What? I'm not telling! Stay tuned!

By the way, I've changed their ages; they are 15 now. (get's shot) I know, I know... But I found them a bit too young... But remember: This is NOT Shippuuden. It doesn't excist in this fic

R&R Please!


	5. Fireworks and Cotton Candy

Hey everyone! Chapter 5 is here! Enjoy!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 5: Fireworks and Cotton Candy**

It seemed like the weather Gods were hearing Sakura's call; it was the perfect weather for the summer festival. Sakura woke up with a smile, already looking forward to tonight.

Naruto thought so too. He felt he was dreaming the last three days. He feared he was going to wake up today, just before they went to the summer festival.

"Ouch!" Naruto exclaimed as he pinched himself. 'Well,' He thought. 'you can't be too sure.' He did his morning ritual, which included eating breakfast at Ichiraku's. He walked outside, greeted by the already warm morning sun.

'It's going to be a perfect day today!' He said to himself, grinning.

He already reached Ichiraku's, until a familiar voice called out to him; "Hey, Naruto!"

He recognised the voice, "Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, turning around to greet him.

"Getting ramen again for breakfast?" Iruka asked smiling, actually already knowing the answer.

Naruto grinned, "Yep! You want to join me, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka laughed, "So I can pay, again, huh?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, "It's for a good cause. I have to save money, you see..."

"Saving money? For what?" Iruka asked, a bit confused.

Naruto began to blush, "For tonight..."

"Mh? Tonight's the festival right...? Don't tell me... You have a date?!" Iruka asked dumbfounded.

This made Naruto blush harder, "S-so what?! Yes, I have a date! A-although, she would never call it a date..."

Iruka put his hand under his chin. "Oh? Then, it's Sakura?"

"W-what?! How do you know, Iruka-sensei?!"

Iruka laughed, "Let's discuss this inside, shall we, Naruto?" He led Naruto inside Ichiraku's. As they sat down, ordering their ramen, they continued the conversation.

"So," Iruka began. "you finally asked her out?"

"Finally? What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked, as he got his bowl with ramen.

"Well, it obviously you have a crush on her." Iruka said, calmly.

Naruto blushed like mad, "I-I don't know what you are talking about, Iruka-sensei!" He sputtered. Has it been _that_ obvious?

"Come on, Naruto! It's been obvious! You always had a crush on her since the Academy!" Iruka said, laughing. "So, who asked who?"

"Well," Naruto said, his blush disappearing. "we actually asked each other at the same time. See, she came yesterday to my house to ask me. But we ended up asking each other."

"Really? She wanted to ask you first?" Iruka said, a little shocked.

Naruto nodded, "I don't know what happened, but it just turned out this way." Naruto said, as he finished his bowl.

"Do you love her?" Iruka asked suddenly, seriousness clearly seen on his face.

Naruto did not flinch. He didn't sputter, he didn't go in denial. He blushed a bit though, thinking about his answer.

But he didn't had to think for long, he could say for certain. He turned to Iruka, his blue eyes almost piercing him.

"Yes."

That was his answer, no doubt heard in his voice.

Iruka smiled, seeing how much Naruto has grown. Not only in Ninjutsu, but also about personal things. Much like love.

"Do you think she's in love with you?" Iruka now asked a difficult question for Naruto.

Naruto looked down, "I don't know." That was true, he really didn't know.

"What makes you think she _doesn't_?"

"Sasuke." Naruto said, clearly saying his name.

Iruka sighed, he knew that this kind of answer would come. "She still loves him?"

"She waited for him again, three days ago." Naruto said, tightly gripping the fabric of his pants.

Iruka sighed again. "But doesn't that mean that she just wants him back?"

"I don't know," Naruto said again. "but I'm almost certain she doesn't feel anything like that for me."

"Almost?" Iruka asked, a little smile seen on his face.

"I can always hope, can't I?" Naruto said, looking up to Iruka with a little smile on his face.

"Yes, you can." Iruka smiled.

"Well, thanks for the ramen, Iruka-sensei! I gotta go now! Are you going to the festival too tonight?" Naruto asked, standing up.

"Ah, well, who knows."

"Great! I see you then, maybe!" Naruto said, as he ran out Ichiraku's, waving.

"Do your best, Naruto." Iruka said, as he began to pay the bill.

**-6:30 PM, Naruto's house-**

The day went fast, but that didn't bother him. He couldn't wait until he got at the festival. His clothes were, yet again, simple; long, blue pants with on top of that a simple black T-shirt and an completely orange jacket to finish it.

He wondered what Sakura is wearing. Is she going to wear a kimono, or just regular clothes? He couldn't wait to find out.

He looked at his watch; 6:45. He should began walking. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt a cool breeze caressing his cheek. He looked up; it looked like it's going to be a starry night.

'Heehee, nothing can stop this night!' Naruto thought.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone. But it felt soft, like pillows. Naruto didn't mind the feeling, until he heard a very, _very_ familiar voice.

"You like that, don't you punk?!" An annoyed woman's voice called down to him.

He looked up, still covered in the softness. His eyes went wide.

"Tsunade-obaasan!" He screaming, taking a step back. "Why did you do that?!"

"Tsk," Tsunade retorted. "the nerve. You bumped into me, punk."

"Right, well, gotta go, I have to go to the festival!" Naruto said, and just as he was about to leave, Tsunade called him back.

"Ah, Naruto, about that!"

Naruto stopped, and turned around. "Mh?" He asked, waiting for her answer.

"Ah... well.." She began, but somehow, she couldn't finish it. 'I can't say it...' She sighed as she put her hand on Naruto's head.

"It's nothing. Have fun on the festival, ok?" She said while ruffling his hair.

'That's it?!' Naruto thought, but shrugged it off. "Ok..." He said, as he ran away, towards the festival.

Tsunade sighed, seeing Naruto disappear in the darkness.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune came running towards Tsunade with a panicked look on her face. "The enemies are coming closer to Konoha! What are your orders?!"

Tsunade turned around, a strict look on her face. "Gather all the Chunin and Jonin who are _not_ on a mission! Order them to keep the enemies away from Konoha, especially from the festival!"

"Yes!" Shizune said, as she ran back to call all the Chunin and Jonin.

Tsunade looked one more time at where Naruto disappeared, before running after Shizune.

**-Summer festival-**

Naruto saw the entrance of the festival already, many people entering it. He wondered how he will be able to recognise Sakura. But he didn't had to think about that for long.

He found her.

She was standing there, looking around, seeming as if she was looking for someone. She looked beautiful in Naruto's eyes; she had a kimono on, a red one, that is. Her right sleeve was longer than her left one, both decorated with strings that held many beads. Her whole kimono was decorated with an white pattern, what looked like spots. Her hair was in a ponytail, and, according to Naruto, she had chopsticks sticking out her ponytail. The had white shoes on, that almost looked like boots, if it wasn't for the opening at the front, which showed her toes.

Naruto stood there, for quite a while, until Sakura called out to him. "Naruto! I'm here!" She waved at him, showing him where she was.

He shook his head, cleared his drool, and began to ran over to her. When he reached her, he again began to exclaim her from head to toe. This made Sakura blush.

"Wow," He began, seemingly out of breath. "you look beautiful, Sakura-chan..."

"Really? I wasn't sure if I should wear it... But I'm glad you like it." She smiled, still blushing.

"Shall we go inside?" Naruto offered.

Sakura smiled at him, "Yes, let's go!" She said, as she quickly grabbed his hand and went inside.

They played many games which made them child again; and not a responsible ninja. They could relax, as they enjoyed each others company.

"Look, look, Shikamaru! That's Sakura! With Naruto!" Someone exclaimed from the back.

The other one sighed, "So what, Ino? Were are together here also, right?"

"Yeah, but... maybe they are dating?!" Ino exclaimed with a gasp.

"How troublesome... Ino, they don't _have_ to date in order to be here together. _We _aren't dating either, and yet we are here together, right?" Shikamaru said, his eyes closed with a pained look.

"Shh, Shikamaru, I'm trying to listen!" Ino said sharply, earning a sigh from Shikamaru.

"You want some cotton candy, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, holding a cotton candy before her.

"I love cotton candy!" Sakura said, as she leaned forward to take a bite. "Mhhh!" She said smiling, with her eyes closed.

Naruto took a bite also, but some cotton remained on Naruto's nose. This made Sakura giggle; that made Naruto confused.

"What?" He asked, as he saw her giggle.

"You have some cotton on your nose." Sakura explained, as she reached out with her index finger and wiped it off his nose. She giggled more before licking the cotton off her finger.

"Did you saw that?! Shikamaru, did you-"

"No, I didn't, Ino. Can we go now?" Shikamaru said, bored. He earned a glare from Ino, but he ignored it.

"But maybe they will kiss!"

"Although Naruto wouldn't mind that, I don't think Sakura will. Come on..." Shikamaru said, as he grabbed Ino's hand, and led her far away from Naruto and Sakura.

'Could this be the guy Sakura was talking about?' Ino thought, but laughed afterwards. "Yeah, right!'

"This is s much fun, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, laughing.

"Yeah, and I-" Naruto began to say, but was interrupted.

"Fireworks in about 10 minutes! Don't miss it! Get ready for a great spectacle!"

"We have to see that, Naruto!" Sakura said.

"Yeah!" A sudden idea came to Naruto's mind. "Sakura-chan, come, you have to see something." Naruto said, as he grabbed her hand.

"But, the fireworks..." Sakura said, but followed Naruto anyway.

"Don't worry," He said, smiling. "we won't miss a thing!" As soon as Naruto said that, he began to run, dragging Sakura with him. She noticed they went up, like running up a hill.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped, and quickly went behind her.

"Naruto...-"

"Sakura-chan, we are almost there. But I want it to be a surprise, close your eyes for a moment, ok?" Naruto said in a soft voice, holding his hands before her eyes.

Sakura's heart began to beat faster, 'What... is this feeling...? Why does my heart beat faster... again?' She thought, as they suddenly stopped.

She felt Naruto removing his hands, "Ok, you can open your eyes now, Sakura-chan." He said, still in a soft voice.

Sakura opened her eyes. Her sight was blurry for a bit, but it recovered quickly.

She gasped, "Oh, Naruto! This is beautiful! I can see the whole festival!" Sakura said, as she saw the lights of the festival beneath her. She also saw the Hogake Mountain in the distance; she actually saw whole Konoha.

"It's pretty cool, right?" Naruto said grinning, as he stood beside her.

"How did you knew about this place? I've never noticed it before!"

"Oh, I came... or I'm still coming here a lot." He looked behind him, seeing a swing hanging on an old tree. There were he always sat when he felt lonely.

"Ah! The lights go off!" Sakura said, as she saw the lights go off one by one.

"The fireworks are going to begin." Naruto said. And as soon as he said that, a few coloured beams went into the sky, and exploded with a loud bang to make more colours.

Sakura thought this was the best thing she ever saw.

Naruto thought the best thing he ever saw was standing right next to him.

Sakura sighed, not saying a word. And without warning, she leaned on his shoulder, enjoying the show.

'Thank God its dark..." Naruto thought as he blushed furiously. He felt happy, like no one could beat him. He had everything he wanted; friends, ramen and Sakura.

While the two teens were enjoying the light show, someone was watching them from the dark.

"Tsk, the idiot." The figure exclaimed. "Just wait Naruto, this time, we will finish it."

&&&&&&&&&&

O000ooohh! Who is it, lurking in the dark? I know, but yeah, spoilers, huh?

Anyway, I find it really hard to describe clothes xD Stupid I know. And I don't really know what they do on festivals... Stupid again, I know.

I hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the next one! Bye Bye!

R&R please!


	6. Sasuke

Hey everyone! Now, who is that mysterious figure? Will you find out in this chapter? I don't know :3

Ah yes, I also made a drawing from the rain scene in chapter 4: h t t p://m i s t y n i a.d e v i a n t a r t.c o m/art/NaruSaku-Forgot-Something-63884819 (Just remove the spaces. It's not that good, I know. But.. meh)

Enjoy chapter 6!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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**Chapter 6: Sasuke**

Everything was perfect; the mood was perfect, the fireworks were perfect, the girl standing net to him _is_ perfect. Nothing could ruin this day for Naruto.

Almost nothing.

"Sir, everyone is in position. What are your orders?" A figure who just appeared out of nothing asked, kneeling down in front of the one who was lurking.

"Good, good," The figure said, as he still had his gaze on Naruto and Sakura. "just wait until _I _give the signal, got it?" He said sharply, making the kneeled figure gulp.

"Y-yes, sir..." The figure said as he disappeared again.

The figure who was lurking put on a black mask. It covered is mouth, but his cold blood-red Sharingan eyes were clearly seen.

"Naruto, thank you." Sakura said suddenly, her head still on his shoulder.

"Why?" Naruto asked, his mind not totally clear. A blush was still seen on his face, and it was happy blush at that.

"Well... for letting me feel that I'm worth something." Sakura said, her head from his shoulder, looking at him.

He also turned to her, "What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? I always thought you were worth something; you are defiantly worth something." Naruto said, a bit confused about why she said that. Why doesn't she see herself the way he sees her?

Sakura put her hands before her mouth, tears in her eyes; "You really mean that?" She whispered.

"With all my heart..." He also whispered. He noticed something; a single white flower standing there, in the ground, with no other flowers arround it. He bent down to pick it up.

"You know, Sakura-chan? I don't see why you look down on yourself." He stood up again. He reached out to her hair, and placed the white flower behind her ear, smiling.

"Because I believe that's not who you are." He said softly.

Tears were now rolling down her face. She sniffled and suddenly jumped towards Naruto. He caught her, but he wasn't standing steady. He fell down, with Sakura on top of him.

But it seemed like she didn't noticed anything. She kept hugging his chest with her eyes closed; "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you so much!"

Naruto smiled softly, as he put an arm around him. She suddenly stopped sniffing and hugging, and rose herself up.

She blushed; "Ah, I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." She nervously laughed, "I guess I should get of you, huh?"

"Y-yeah..." Naruto also bushed.

'No!'

She wanted to get up, but someone stopped her. She looked down at Naruto, seeing that he held her arm to prevent her from leaving.

"Naruto..?" She barely got out. But Naruto just kept staring at her, almost with an pleading face.

'What's wrong with him?' She thought. 'Why is he staring at me like that? And why... am I staring at him like that...? His eyes, they seem hypnotising.' She didn't realise that they were coming closer to each other.

"Men, let us begin..."

Both of them didn't stop. They closed their eyes, knowing they both wanted this. Sakura bent down, Naruto reached up. They both parted their lips a bit, their noses touching. They reached in for the kiss.

'An intention to kill?!' Sakura thought just as three kunai's were coming out of nowhere. Sakura had to think fast; they were aimed at Naruto. She quickly grabbed his jacket, turned herself with her back facing the kunai's. Just as she did, the kunai's hit her back.

"Ugh!" Sakura said, as she pits out some blood.

It went all too fast for Naruto. But he now knew that Sakura was hurt, "Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto, we are being attacked!" She quickly said, as she sat straight, trying to get the kunai's out of her back.

Naruto ran behind her; "Who... is attacking us?" He asked is shock, as he carefully pulled out the kunai's. "Sakura-chan... Don't ever do that again." He said, a stern look on his face.

"What?! They were aimed at _you_ Naruto! What else was I supposed to do?" Sakura said angrily, part of her anger was because of the pain she gained when the kunai's were pulled out.

Naruto sighed, knowing he would have done the same. He pulled the last kunai out, but Sakura was still bleeding.

"Naruto, I'm ok. Can I have one kunai, please?" Sakura asked as she grabbed one of the kunai's. She threw them at the exact same place where they came from.

Three figures suddenly jumped from the darkness.

"It seems that your girlfriend saved you, Naruto..." One voice said.

"It seems that you uses her as a shield, Naruto..." The other one said. They both wore masks before their mouths. They were both in totally black clothing with long sleeves and long pants.

Naruto growled and stepped before Sakura. "Who are you?!" He yelled. The two figures laughed. The third one remained silence.

"Show yourselves!" Naruto yelled again.

The third one finally spoke; "Let me go first... I want this to be a... 'touching' reunion..." Both Naruto and Sakura's eyes went wide when they heard the voice. It hasn't changed one bit.

'It can't be... not like this... please not like this...' Sakura thought as the figure slowly walked into the moonlight.

Naruto growled at what he saw; "Sasuke..."

"So, you still remember me?" Sasuke said, as his eyes began to glow. He removed his mask, which revealed a nasty smirk. He had the same black clothes as the other two, the only difference he had was that he had a belt around his waist which held a weapon holder.

"What are you doing?! You could've really hurt Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, as he clenched his fist.

"Sakura?" Sasuke said, mocking. He looked at Sakura, who seemed to be frozen. "It was actually meant for you, Naruto..."

"You..." Naruto said, already wanting to attack him.

"Sasuke-kun..." A weak voice came from behind Naruto. Sasuke didn't even glance at her.

But Sakura continued; "Why are you doing this? Why did you attack Naruto?"

"Because I want to finish it..." He simply answered.

That's right... Naruto and Sasuke fought almost to the death when Sasuke wanted to betray the village to go to Orochimaru. Sasuke won, and went to Orochimaru to get stronger.

"I was weak back then, but now... I'm stronger. Much stronger." Sasuke said, as he now used the full power of the Sharingan. "You want to test it?" He asked Naruto.

"No, stop! Do not fight!" Sakura pleaded. But she had to jump away because of two kunai's that were thrown at her.

She looked up, seeing that those two man were attacking her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, and wanted to go with her, but was stopped by Sasuke who was suddenly in front of him.

"Your business is with me, Naruto..." Sasuke said, as he laid a punch on him. Naruto quickly reacted, and stopped Sasuke's punch with his hand.

"If you want it that way..." Naruto said as he also punched Sasuke, but missed because he dodged.

"Shit, I can't move well in these clothes..." Sakura cursed under her breath. As the two men came closer.

'Well, here goes nothing.' She thought as she ran towards them, her fist in the air. "Shannaro!" She yelled as she punched one. She thought it was an hit, until the person disappeared, and a wooden log was seen.

'A replacement?' Sakura said, but was unable to look behind her on time. She was kicked in her side, which made her loose her ground as she practically flew towards a tree.

It was a full hit.

Sakura cried with pain as she hit the tree, and fell down. Blood was seen at the side of her mouth, but she quickly wiped it away.

'I'm not strong enough to beat these guys...' She thought as she looked how Naruto was doing.

It was a even battle with Naruto and Sasuke; when one hits, the other one dodges, and vice versa.

"Looks like you didn't improved your taijutsu, Naruto..." Sasuke said.

"Heh, neither have you!" Naruto said, as he jumped away from him. He saw Sakura standing there, weakly, looking as she was beating hard. Her hair was now loose from the hit, and was hanging before her face.

'Sakura-chan...' Naruto thought. 'This is not good, we have to get out of here...'

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto cried, as one doppelganger appeared beside him. The real Naruto held out his hand, while the other one began making circles on it with his own hands. A blue ball formed in the real Naruto's hand, rotating fast. When the ball was ready, the doppelganger disappeared. Naruto ran towards Sasuke, with high speed.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he held his arm back.

"Too slow, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, as he also made his attack; Chidori.

They both attacked at the same time, their attacks colliding. It was just like their fight all over again. Only this time, it was with their own strength.

A bright light was made, which made Sakura and the other two look up. Sakura saw the fight at the hospital playing all over again.

'They have to stop! I can't look at this any longer!' Sakura said, as she weakly walked over to Naruto and Sasuke, not being noticed by the other two guys. Their attack was over, but they lost a lot of Chakra. They were panting heavily, but ready to fire another attack.

Just as Naruto wanted to attack again, something stopped him from behind.

"Stop..." A weak voice whispered in his back, but he could hear it clearly.

"S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto didn't notice Sasuke anymore. That was a wrong move.

"I don't want you two fighting..." She whispered again. She suddenly saw Sasuke drawing a sword. Her eyes went wide while she let out a gasp.

What happened next almost seemed happening in slow-motion; Sakura let go of Naruto, while Sasuke began to charge at them. Naruto didn't noticed Sasuke was attacking them until Sakura pushed him on the ground, standing before him.

She took the hit.

The sword pierced through her belly, as she spit out more blood. Her beautiful red kimono was now even more red, all coming from her.

Sasuke smirked; "Wrong move, Sakura." He said, as he withdrew his sword.

Naruto couldn't move; even when she fell down, he only blinked.

"S-Sakura-chan..." He whispered, finally finding the strength to crawl over to her. He looked at her face, seeing that she was still breathing. But she took the hit. "Why... Why did she... why didn't I...?" Naruto was talking nonsense, not coming out of his words.

"Are you angry now, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, "Do you want to kill me...?"

But Naruto stayed quiet. Only his shoulders were shaking, making Sasuke think he was crying. But that wasn't the case; red Chakra formed around Naruto's body.

'There it is again.' Sasuke thought as Naruto stood up. He quickly turned around, his normally blue eyes now blazing red, fangs clearly seen.

He didn't looked like himself anymore.

"I'm going to kill you!"

&&&&&&&&&&

Ooooh! I was Sasuke after all! (gets shot) And I'm sorry if the action scene was a bit... fast an odd... But I'm just not good at those things xDDD I leave that to Kishimoto.

I might not upload a new chapter for in a while... Work started for me again, so... I'm gonna get really busy. I might upload in the weekend.

Stay tuned and review!


	7. Turn Back Time

Hey everyone! That didn't took too long for me right? To make a new chapter? I'm just... busy with work. It's no fun, but it's good money! Muhahahaha!

Cough

Anyway, many of you want Sasuke dead, so it seems. Well, I seriously can't promise you anyhing. Let's just see what my mood is now.

Enjoy chapter 7!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 7: Turn Back Time**

"I'm going to kill you!" Naruto screamed while turning his head to Sasuke, still holding Sakura in his arms. She was unconscious, but alive. But this didn't soothe Naruto's anger.

'This is it,' Sasuke thought, as he grinned, not faced by Naruto's enormous chakra.

Naruto stood up, slowly, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. Sasuke noticed something strange though; he had four tales of red chakra instead of one like the last time.

"You'll pay..." Naruto growled, bending down, so that his hands were on the ground, taking the position of a fox, his four tales up high.

Sasuke quickly jumped back, making distance between them.

"Sir! Do you need our help?" One of Sasuke's henchman said, though they were both frightened by what they saw.

"No, I'll do this alone..." Sasuke said, determined.

'Tsk,' The first on thought, 'egoistic brat...'

"But sir! At least, you'll have to use the second stage to-" The second said, but was cut off.

"No! I'll do this alone," Sasuke said again, as he gave a look at his henchmen, "Flee if you want, I have no use for cowards."

Both of the men growled, but stayed anyway. They needed to see who was stronger, for later report...

Naruto gave a hard growl, and with great speed, he charged at Sasuke. Sasuke grinned and jumped up.

Naruto was faster, though; just as Sasuke was in the air, Naruto grabbed his legs. He gave him a spin, before letting him go. Sasuke regained his balance, as he landed on his feet.

'He's fast,' Sasuke thought, and he was almost hit by Naruto's fist. Sasuke jumped back again, analysing him.

'Those four tales... Does that tell something about his strength?' Sasuke thought. Naruto bend down again, ready to attack.

"Sharigan!" Sasuke said, just as Naruto sprinted at him. Naruto jumped up, only to charge down as fast as he could.

Sasuke didn't had enough time to dodge the attack, so he held his hands above him. He actually caught Naruto, his hands holding Naruto's. Naruto's face came closer to Sasuke's, but their arms were trembling.

It seemed that Naruto was much stronger then Sasuke.

With his fangs as sharp as ever, and his eyes redder then blood, he looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. "You'll pay, you'll pay, you'll pay!" He screamed as he let go of one hand, and punched Sasuke hard in the face, letting him practically fly backwards.

"Sir!" His henchman screamed, as Sasuke hit the ground.

Sasuke cursed, while holding his face. 'I should've... seen that one coming with sharigan... Why didn't I...?'

Naruto growled harder this time, his face upwards to the sky. The rocks around him began to tremble.

The pupils in his eyes disappeared, showing only blood red eyes. His nails growing larger, his position changed. His back was straight up, as an cat who was ready to attack.

'This isn't Naruto anymore, that's the nine tailed fox!' Sasuke thought, as he stood up gritting his teeth.

Sakura moaned, slowly waking up. When she tried to move, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She held up her hand, seeing blood on it; her blood.

Sasuke. Naruto. Attack. Sword. Protect. Darkness.

She remembered. She tried to protect Naruto when Sasuke attacked. Did she... failed again..?

She slowly held her head up, looking towards the direction of the noise. Her vision was blurry, not knowing if it was blurry because of her blood loss or her crying. It was probably both.

"Naruto... Sasuke..." She whispered, wanting to see both their faces. But what she saw, wasn't what she hoped for.

She saw Naruto, screaming into the sky, red chakra surrounding his body. The ground around him was trembling, making holes in it. She didn't saw his face; his back was towards her.

In front of Naruto she saw Sasuke, looking as if he was punched in the face, hard. He had an unusual expression on his face. Was he scared? What happened to Naruto? She had to stop him, she didn't want this.

Naruto didn't attack, he just kept screaming. This gave Sasuke the chance.

"I'll end this." Sasuke said, as he prepared his Chidori, running towards Naruto.

Naruto didn't do anything, it seemed like he didn't noticed him.

"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as he jumped up, holding his arm backwards, so that he would gain more speed when he hit Naruto.

'Naruto!' Sakura thought, as she saw Sasuke attack.

But Sasuke's attack never hit; Naruto stopped him with one arm, not even looking at him.

"What?!" Sasuke said out loud, his Chidori disappearing. Naruto began gripping Sasuke hand harder and harder, almost breaking it.

Sasuke pushed Naruto away with a punch in his stomach. Naruto let go, but remained his posture. He growled again, the ground around him trembling.

"I have... to stop this..." Sakura said, as she slowly stood up, holding her stomach. 'I have to... endure the pain for now...'

Sakura slowly walked up to Naruto; it seemed like he didn't noticed her. "Naruto..." She whispered. She felt his chakra; it was so strong. She had to reach him, or they will kill each other.

Her hand reached out to him, grabbing his jacket. He quickly turned around, his red eyes looking fiercely at her.

This shocked Sakura; she had never seen him this way. Ever. Tears rolled down her face.

This wasn't the smiling, bubbly, energetic idiot she knew. This just wasn't him!

"Naruto..." She said, trying to show strength in her voice. She looked down, and slowly moved forward, resting her head on his back, her strength fading again. She closed her eyes, feeling somewhat secure.

This was not the same for Naruto. He saw her as a stranger, who also wanted to hurt him. He could not let them hurt him.

He gave her a quick elbow, but it was with all his strength. His kyuubi strength.

Sakura screamed, as she hit the very same tree again. She felt blood coming from her stomach again. She didn't wanted to loose consciousness, but her lack of blood was winning.

Her expression was blank, as she looked at Naruto's face.

'It seems like... I'm still weak...' Sakura said, as she lost consciousness again.

Sasuke watched the whole thing, and even he was disgusted. Suddenly, his two henchmen came beside him.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

"Sir! We have to get out of here! Our only quest was to claim data!"

Sasuke didn't say anything. He placed a hand on his cheek; it was swollen.

Naruto growled again, his clothes beginning to tore up, his chakra creating craters around him; he had lost control.

Sasuke wasn't happy, but this wasn't a good moment to fight. Although he doesn't want to admit it, Naruto could kill him in this state.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, growling. "Ugh, retreat for now!" Sasuke said, as he disappeared together with his two henchmen. Leaving an unconscious Sakura and an out of control Naruto alone.

"Hokage-sama! They are here! And it seems like we are too late!" Shizune yelled as she arrived at the scene.

Right after that, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi arrived. They all looked in horror at the scene.

Tsunade took action, "Shizune! Go look if Sakura is ok! Jiraiya and Kakashi, you two take care of Naruto. But be careful. I'll also join Shizune."

"Yes!" They all said as they went to Sakura and Naruto.

Shizune arrived at Sakura's side, first checking her pulse. She sighed in relief; "She's badly wounded, but she's till alive."

Tsunade kneeled down beside Sakura, pushing some bangs back. "You'll be able to heal her?"

Shizune nodded, "Yes, but she still needs to go to the hospital."

Tsunade looked down. "Please do, I'll go check up on Naruto." Tsunade said, as she quickly went to the place where Kakashi and Jiraiya was.

"What an amazing power..." Jiraiya said, as he watched Naruto. "So this is the Kyuubi's..."

"Yes," Kakashi answered. He also didn't like what he saw. But what was worse, he couldn't do anything for his pupil.

"He should be out of chakra soon." Jiraiya said. And he was right. Not soon after her said that, his four tails began to disappear.

Naruto fell down on his knees, holding himself up with his hands. His blue eyes re-appearing again, his fangs going back to normal. The ground stopped shaking. His red chakra disappeared also, and Naruto fell completely down because of exhausting.

Jiraiya, Kakashi and Tsunade quickly rushed over to him.

Tsunade quickly began to heal him.

"Is he ok?" Kakashi asked, looking at his torn clothes. His body looked like it was burnt.

"Yes, to say the least, he doesn't have a scratch. But it's best to bring him to the hospital after I healed him." Tsunade said, as the burnt marks slowly disappeared.

After Tsunade was done, Jiraiya picked him up. Only to see tears streaming down his face. 'What happened to him...' Jiraiya thought, as Shizune came walking up to them with Sakura in her arms.

"Is she ok?" Kakashi asked, as he took her over from Shizune.

"Yes," Answered Shizune. "but she still needs to go to the hospital. Some cuts are deep and may be infected."

He nodded, as the four of them began to sprint to the hospital, wondering what happened here.

Wondering if they could be innocent again like to used to be. To just turn back time for one day.

&&&&&&&&&

Phew, glad I got this one done. And no, I'm not going to kill Sasuke. I leave that, yet again, to Kishimoto. Besides, I don't really hate him. I love mocking him, though. But I love mocking the Akatsuki's too X3

Anways, stay tuned for the next chapter!

Review please!


	8. I Want To See You

Well, two weeks was worth the wait, right?

Enjoy chapter 8!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 8: I want to see you**

"She should be waking up soon..." Voices, from who? It sounds like there are more.

"Any serious injuries?" A males voice, sounding like... Jiraya's.

"No," A woman's voice. "But the hospital wants to keep her here for just one night, in case infections come up from her cuts." That has to be Tsunade.

"What about Naruto...?" Naruto...? Was he hurt?

There was a sigh, "Nobody has found him yet since he disappeared this morning. We have no idea where he is."

Naruto's missing? Where is he? Why aren't they looking more?

"I shouldn't have told him what happened... Not immediately." Kakashi said.

What happened...? Sasuke, the fight, Naruto, kyuubi, hurt, blackness, Naruto, Naruto, Naruto.

"Naruto..."

"She's waking up!"

Tsunade was immediately by her side as Sakura began to wake up.

"Sakura... how are you feeling?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura ignored the question, though. "Where's Naruto?" She asked, her eyes adjusting to the light, her voice back to normal. She slowly began to sit up, looking at the three.

Nobody spoke, they didn't look her in the eye.

Sakura began to lose her temper, "I asked, where is Naruto?" She asked in a stern voice.

There was no answer yet again. Sakura had enough of the silence. She pushed the sheets off of her and quickly stood up.

"Fine, I'll go look for him myself!" Just as she wanted the walk, she began to moan, falling down on her knees. She clutches her stomach, as if it was ripping apart.

"Sakura!" Tsunade said, as she kneeled down beside her. "You wounds are not yet healed, please, rest." She helped Sakura up and put her back in her bed.

"Where is Naruto..." She asked again, and planning to ask them until they answered.

"Gone." Jiraiya bluntly said.

Sakura looked up to him, looking surpised, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

"It's just as I said, he's gone. We don't know where he is, nobody can find him."

Sakura's eyes went wide, and looked at Kakashi and Tsunade, "Is this true?" But her question was answered when nobody answered.

"Why...?"

"Right after we brought you two here, Naruto didn't looked too good." Tsunade began to explain, "We were able to heal him, but we were almost too late. When he regained consciousness, Kakashi explained the whole story. And... when Kakashi told him that he hurt you in his kyuubi rage, he ran away. When I came to look how he was doing, he was gone."

"He... blames himself that he had hurt me, right?" Sakura asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Tsunade nodded, "Probably so."

"That idiot..." Sakura whispered, while the first tears fell. "I... would never blame him, ever. I can't believe he thinks that way."

"Sakura..." Tsunade began, as she saw Sakura's head bowing down more, her hands gripping the sheets tighter. Her shoulders began to shake.

"I want to see him... I want talk to him, telling him that it's not his fault. Why did he ran away? He never ran away from anything. I want to see him..." More tears began to fall.

'Running from love is something different than running from a mission...' Jiraiya thought. Naruto didn't had much knowledge about love, he knew that much. Jiraiya tried to teach him, but he was more interested in new jutsu's.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Sakura quickly looked up, hoping it was Naruto. But that quickly faded away when a nurse came though the door.

"I'm sorry, but visitors hours are over. I have to ask you to leave." The nurse said with a kind smile.

Just as the three were about to step outside, Sakura whispered something, "Please find him..."

"With everything we've got, Sakura." Tsunade said softly, as they left the room.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered again. She had to see him, she felt so miserable. He was always there for her, never leaving her side. Now she wanted to be there for him, she wanted to search for him.

"Damnit..." She cursed, she was useless yet again. She looked outside; it was raining. That did not lightened her mood.

"Naruto, where are you? Please, come back..."

She held her knees close to herself, "I don't want to be alone..."

And just like it came out of nothing, she began to sing a song she never heard of;

_'Kiss me sweet _

_I'm sleeping in silence _

_All alone _

_In ice and in snow _

_In my dreams, I'm calling your name_

_You are my love'_

But where was Naruto?

Naruto found himself standing in front of the big gate of Konoha. The rain messed up his hair, his breathing was heavy. He ran trough the rain to this point. He didn't knew where he was going; he just let his legs run.

'I... hurt Sakura... I'm... really what they say I am; a monster.' He thought. He gripped the fabric of his wet jacket tightly, closing his eyes. 'I shouldn't even be here anymore... Sakura... she must hate me by now.'

"Damnit!" Naruto screamed as he fell down on his knees, and began punching the ground. "If I can't even control this... thing inside me, then I can't be called a worthy ninja."

He suddenly began to laugh, still sitting on his knees while the rain came down faster. "I am such a coward; what must they all think of me?"

"Becoming Hogake doesn't matter anymore to me if I hurt the ones I love..." He looked down, seeing the ground turn to mud.

He slowly stood up, remove the mud on his pants. He took of his headband, and let it fall on the ground. He didn't looked back, as suddenly strong wind went by. It seemed like... it was saying something...

_You are my love_

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, eyes wide. He was sure of it; it was Sakura's voice. But was it really her? Where did it come from?

Naruto turned around, looking into an empty village. He had a bad feeling, somehow, when he heard her voice.

Sakura had enough, she didn't wanted to sit and wait here. She wanted to look for Naruto. She wanted to see him, having him hold her like he did that night when she waited for Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun..." What happened to him? "He's gone again, is he?" She whispered to herself. But, Sasuke wasn't her top priority right now. It was Naruto this time.

Sakura pushed the sheets off of her, and slowly stood up. She received some pinches, but that didn't let her stop her. She grabbed some clean clothes that were laying on a chair close to her. She put on her shoes, and quickly went out the door, actually forgetting her headband.

Just as she was out the hospital, a nurse came to her room, "Miss Haruno? A little check-up before it's bedtime-" She looked around. "Miss Haruno?" She looked around; her clothes were gone, her bed was empty.

The nurse picked up the headband she forgot. "I've got to warn the Hogake!" She said as she ran out the room, leaving it empty and dark.

Sakura wanted to run harder, but the pain in her stomach was winning. She held her stomach, but that didn't let the pain subside.

The rain and wind weren't helping either. She began to gasp for air. She suddenly stopped and buckled forward, actually expecting to throw up. But nothing came.

"I don't have time for this, I have to find Naruto!" She began to run again, but, where was she running to? She didn't knew where Naruto was. They said they looked everywhere, in whole Konoha. Why would she be the one who knew where he was?

Suddenly, her sight became blurry. She thought it was because she was tired; but it wasn't like that.

She still ran, as she slowly lifted up her hand; blood. The wound on he stomach re-opened again, and was bleeding. Sakura's face became pale, only looking at her hand, and not paying attention to the road.

She felt something strange; she didn't felt the ground under her feet anymore. She looked forward, only seeing that her sight went up, and her body went down.

Sakura hit the ground, letting out a yelp. She moaned, still holding her stomach. Tears forming in her eyes again.

"I... don't want it to end like this... I have to find... Naruto.." She said, moaning. She wanted to get up, but her legs didn't listen to her. Her sight was still blurry, becoming even more blurred with the second.

She looked beside her, and she saw a tiny red stream being carried away with the water from the rain. She knew it was her blood.

"Naruto... I am so, so sorry..." Sakura whispered, as she began to feel cold, her body starting to feel numb.

She left out a little laugh. "How is it that it is always me who gets into trouble?" She coughed, her vision becoming dark.

"If only... I could see you again..." She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh, letting herself know that it was ok. Everything went black, but before she was completely away, she heard a someone calling her from a distance.

"Sakura-chan!"

&&&&&&&&&&

Muhahaha! Does she die? I think you know it already, though xD

The song was from Tsubada Reservoir Chronicle. It's called 'You are my love' (English version) Beautiful song, I found it fitting for this part.

Welp, stay tuned for the next chapter!

I always appreciate the reviews everyone! I find it fun to read them 


	9. His Guardian Angel

Hey there!

….

Well, enough chit-chat! Time to continue!

Enjoy chapter 9!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 9: His Guardian Angel**

Warm... the place were Sakura was, it was so warm.

"Sakura Haruno..."

A voice? A woman's voice. It sounded so kind. Who was it?

"Where am I?" Sakura heard herself say.

"Open your eyes, Sakura." The woman's voice said.

Sakura did as she was told. She was for a minute blinded by the light that surrounded her. But that was the only thing that surrounded her.

She looked around her, everything was white. She saw no end, she saw no beginning. She turned around, feeling that someone was standing behind her.

And there was.

It was a woman, around her 30's, red hair that was about he same length as Sakura. She had a baby pink with baby blue robe on.

"An angel?" Sakura whispered.

The woman smiled, and walked over to Sakura. Sakura was amazed of how pretty she looked. She looked somewhat familiar though.

"I guess you can say that I'm an angel, Sakura." She said in a soft voice, still smiling.

"How do you know my name?" Sakura asked.

"I've been watching you, or rather, I've been watching the one you've been with all this time."

"You've... been watching someone? Who?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, I cannot say that. But it is someone who's very dear to me. And very dear to you."

Sakura was confused now. All her friends were dear to her, but who was dear to this angel?

"Where am I?" Sakura suddenly asked, knowing that she wasn't in Konoha.

"You're actually nowhere, Sakura."

This confused Sakura even more. "Nowhere?" She remembered what happened, like a flash. "Am I dead?" She asked, rather panicky.

The woman shook her head. "No, you are not dead, Sakura. You were saved, but just in the nick of time."

"Then why am I here?"

"You are still unconscious. This is where your spirit took you. We had to meet each other."

"We had to meet? What does that mean?"

The woman was still smiling. "Who knows? I know I wanted to meet you. We actually look a lot like each other. On the inside and outside." The woman pushed some bangs away from Sakura's face.

Her hand was warm. Her hand was soft. She was defiantly an angel.

"We look like each other? How?"

"We both did not noticed that the love of or lives were standing right next to us."

Was she talking about Naruto? Sasuke? No, not Sasuke.

"I don't under-"

"If you don't understand, then make use of your remaining live to think about what means for a person to love." Suddenly, the woman started to disappear.

Sakura took notice of this. "Wait! What is your name? Are we gonna see each other again?"

The woman closed her eyes and smiled, while she slowly became invisible. "Sakura, I will always be with you as long as you continue to be with the person I guard. But I have no doubt in my mind that you will always be with this person."

This actually calmed Sakura, and she smiled. "I hope I'll see you again."

"Sakura-chan, wake up!"

Sakura looked up, as if the voice came from above her. She smiled as she recognised he voice. "Naruto!"

"It seems you have found your way back." The woman said. She was almost completely gone.

Sakura turned her head back at the woman. "Wait, you name...?"

The body of the woman was already gone, she only said one thing; "My name... is Kushina Uzumaki."

Sakura's eyes went wide, "What...?" Before she could do anything else, the light became brighter and she had to close her eyes.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura opened her eyes again, and noticed she wasn't in the 'white room' anymore. She was in someone else's room, lying on a soft bed. She slowly sat up, also seeing that she wasn't in the hospital. What about her wound? She lifted up her shirt, seeing that her wound was covered with bandages. Who did that?

She suddenly felt something on her hand. Something warm and soft.

She looked besides her; it was Naruto. He was holding her hand, while his head was on the side of the bed. He was fast asleep. It must have taken her a while to wake up.

Sakura smiled at the sight, 'He looks so cute...' She thought, as she pushed away some bangs from his eyes.

She looked around again, now knowing she was in Naruto's house. 'How did I get here, what exactly happened?'

She remembered the red- haired woman, the guardian angel. 'Her last name... was Uzumaki.' She looked down at Naruto again. 'Could it be? Is she... Naruto's mom?' Sakura softly touched Naruto's face.

"She's his Guardian Angel..." She whispered.

At that moment, Naruto stirred. He opened his eyes, and looked up. His blue eyes looked at Sakura's emerald eyes, none of them speaking.

Suddenly, Naruto's face brightened, a smile shown on his face, "Sakura-chan! Y-you're awake! How do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere?"

But Sakura didn't say anything. She was staring at him with a blank face. This made Naruto not smile anymore. This made him more concerned.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong? Does your wound hurt?" But before Naruto had the chance to say anything else, Sakura almost lunged at him, embracing him tightly.

"Sa-Sakura-chan...?" Naruto blushed, but he was glad Sakura couldn't see it. He hugged her back, glad to be able to hold her like this.

"You idiot..." She whispered, burying her head in his shoulder. "I'm so glad you are ok..." She pushed herself up, looking him in the eyes.

She looked down, suddenly finding the sheets interesting. "How could you think..." She still whispered, "How could you think I would blame you for what happened?!" She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth.

Naruto also looked down, remembering what happened. "Because it is true..." Sakura quickly looked up, her hand reaching his face. Naruto thought she was going to hit him, so he quickly closed his eyes. But no hit came. Instead, he felt two warm hands on both his cheeks.

"Naruto, look at me..." Sakura said, as Naruto did what he was told. What he saw was something he didn't expected; Sakura was on the verge of tears.

"It's not your fault, I never thought it was your fault. And I can't believe that _you_ thought."

Naruto shook his head, but Sakura's hands never left his face. "It was _me_ who hurt you Sakura. It was me who..." Naruto stopped, closing his eyes.

"No, Naruto... It was... it was Sasuke," At this, Naruto's eyes opened again, looking shocked at Sakura. She continued, "Sasuke hurt us both." He knew it pained her to say that, he could feel it.

"You weren't yourself, I never thought it was your fault. And even if it was, I would have forgiven you. Naruto... I..." Sakura didn't finish. It was as if she was insecure about what she wants to say.

She removed her hands from is face, and scooted closer to him. She held her head against her chest. She inhaled his scent deeply, glad that he was here with her.

"Just hold me..." She whispered.

Naruto gave a little smile, before putting his arms around her. He held her close, and put his head on top of her own.

"I'll always protect you, Sakura-chan..." He said softly, but there was no response; Sakura had fallen asleep.

Naruto didn't mind, just as long as she was with him, he couldn't care less.

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Yeah, shorter then usual. Sorry about that. Getting a bit of a... writers block. I have the feeling my English isn't good today...

Anyway, maybe you knew, maybe you didn't, but Kushina is Naruto's mom. Spoiler? Yes, but the only spoiler you know is that she has red hair and that her name is Kushina. But yeah, I don't know anything about her either xDDD

Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and review!


	10. He Who Hurt Us All

Hey guys! I'm fearing for a writers block :o I don't want that!

Let's see if I can make a decent chapter.

And thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! It really encourages me to write more and more!

Enjoy chapter 10!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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**Chapter 10: He who hurt us all**

"And where is he now?"

"We don't know yet, Tsunade-sama. It's most likely that he's back to Orochimaru's hideout."

"So, we are back to the beginning again, huh?"

"It looks that way, yes..."

Tsunade sighed. Why was finding Sasuke so damn hard? And they were so close too...

Tsunade decided to change the subject, "Have you found Naruto _or _Sakura yet?"

Shizune shook her head. "Almost all the ninja's in the village are looking for them, but still no sight of them both. We are afraid that they both left the village."

Tsunade sighed again, and turned herself to look out the window. "Sakura... I thought she was smart enough to know that he couldn't chase him in her condition. And for her to run away from the village." Tsunade actually gave a smile at the end of her sentence. "Only that... to find that little punk."

Shizune gave a smile as well, "Love is something amazing, isn't it, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, it is..." Tsunde turned herself back to Shizune. "Continue searching for those two." She ordered.

"Yes!" Shizune said, as she quickly ran out the door.

Tsunade closed her eyes, as she rested her head on her hands. "Sakura, Naruto... where are you?"

In another room in Konoha, it was warm, comfortable. Wherever Sakura was, she didn't wanted to leave the place.

She slowly opened her eyes, as she awoke from her sleep. She noticed she was in someone's room.

'That's right,' She thought. 'I'm in Naruto's house... I'm in Naruto's bed... Naruto's lying next to me...'

Wait.

'Naruto's lying next me?!' This actually gave her almost a heart attack. But her panic subsided when she saw Naruto cuddling with his sheets right next to her. He was sleeping soundly, with his mouth opened a little.

"Sa...kura-chan..." He muttered in his sleep. Sakura's face softened when she heard him muttering in his sleep.

She yawned, noticing she was still a little tired. She lay herself down, facing Naruto, who was still sleeping comfortably. She smiled, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She loved his scent, and even when he was sleeping, she could still smell it clearly. It relaxed her so much, that she fell asleep immediately.

But at that moment, Naruto woke up, seeing the face of his angel.

"Sakura-chan..." He whispered softly. He wanted to touch her, but he was afraid that she would wake up.

He suddenly heard a familiar sound.

"Breakfast time." He said to himself. He carefully went out bed, trying not to wake up Sakura. When he got out, he pulled the sheets over Sakura. She gave a little sigh when he did so, and started cuddling with her pillow.

While Naruto was starting to make his breakfast, instant ramen, he thought about what happened. He couldn't remember much from that night, but he could remember Sasuke.

And he believed that _that_ the only thing was he needed to know.

"Sasuke..." It was because of him that he hurt Sakura, but he still partly blames himself for hurting Sakura. He pushed that matter away from his mind for now, and started to question the how's and why's.

'Why did Sasuke came back? What did he want? If he wanted to kill me, he could have easily attack me when I wasn't looking. Damnit Sasuke!' He slammed his fist on his kitchen table. He quickly turned his head to his room, wondering if he woke up Sakura. He sighed; she was still asleep.

He had to find Sasuke, where ever he was. He had a feeling they were close to finding him. But just as they found him, he was gone again. Like he was running away from them.

He poured the hot water he prepared in his bowl. 'He said he wanted to finish things, yet he ran away when I...' He didn't finish her thoughts. He grabbed to bread and some milk. He didn't had much to offer Sakura, he had to admit. But how could he know it would turn out like this?

He suddenly heard footsteps behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Sakura standing there while rubbing her right eye.

"Sakura-chan! Good morning, did I woke you up?" Naruto said, as he almost blushed when he saw Sakura standing there, looking terribly cute.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I was already awake, but then I fell asleep again and I woke up again." She said, not exactly knowing what she was she was saying.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked as he pointed to her stomach.

Sakura looked down, knowing what he meant. "Ah, I'm ok. I'm feeling a lot better." She smiled at him, while he smiled back.

"Ah! I made you some breakfast, Sakura-chan!" He said, as he showed her the bread and milk. He rubbed the back of his head as he saw her breakfast. "Well, I'm not exactly sure if you could call it breakfast... Sorry Sakura-chan, I don't have much..."

Sakura giggled as she walked over to him. She picked up the bread and milk as she smiled at him. "Thank you Naruto, that's really sweet of you." She said as she sat on the most nearby chair. She felt a sting in her stomach, but it subsided soon. She rubbed her stomach, making Naruto worry.

"Sakura-chan, maybe we should go to the hospital, it looks like you're still hurt." Naruto said in a concerned voice.

"Ah, well.. I kinda... ran away from the hospital when I wasn't yet healed..." Sakura said, as she began to play with her bread. "They probably see us now as missing nin, on a count that you're not 'back' either."

"Huh?!" Naruto almost screamed. "Oh, yeah, we haven't reported back yet." He gave an evil smile, "Tsunade-baachan must be scared out of her wits."

"Naruto, that's not funny." Sakura said as she stood up, not finishing her bread. "We must get dressed and go over to- Ohhh..." As soon as Sakura wanted to walk, she felt a great pain in her stomach. She fell down on her knees as she held her stomach with both her arms.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly rushed over to her. "Are you ok?"

"This pain... it doesn't go away... and it's not because of the wound..." Sakura gasped.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto said, as he was almost certain to where this was going.

"It's because of Sasuke..." Naruto noticed something. She wasn't calling him 'Sasuke-kun' like she always does. She also called him Sasuke last night. Does that mean...

"I could actually feel his pain, through the blade." She stood up, with the help of Naruto. "Naruto, we have to find him."

"I agree, but-"

"We have to finish this." She harshly said, and Naruto knew she meant it.

"Do you mean..."

She closed her eyes, "If he wants to fight us, we will fight back. With everything we've got."

Naruto couldn't believe what he heard; was she completely over Sasuke? Does she... want to kill him?

"Naruto, I want Sasuke back, more than everything." It's like she read his mind. "But if he... doesn't want to himself, and starts to fight, I, at least, will fight back." She looked at Naruto, while he was looking shocked at her.

"He has hurt us all." She stated, not once her voice cracking. "What are you going to do?"

Naruto stayed quiet for a while. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I... I want to bring him back as well, but if he doesn't want to, I will fight as well."

Sakura grabbed his hands, keeping them warm. This is the most difficult decision they have ever made.

"Naruto, we'll always be a team. We will go trough this together, and hopefully, bring back the one we'll never forget."

Naruto nodded at this, "Yeah, always, Sakura-chan."

They stayed quiet for a while, only looking each other in the eyes, knowing that they both were serious.

"You little punk! Open your door! I know you are in there!" An angry voice said as the person began to slam on Naruto's door.

"H-hokage-sama?!" Sakura said, recognising the voice.

"Sakura?! Are you in there?! Open this door!" Tsunade said as more slamming came.

"Don't you dare messing with my door, Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto said, as he could feel Tsunade's anger.

"If you open this damn door, I won't have to!"

"Yes, yes..." Naruto said, as he walked over to his door, rubbing his head. As soon as he opened the door, he received a punch on his head.

"Owwww! Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto whined as he began to rub his head. 'Thank God she didn't use her full strenght.' He thought as tears began to form in his eyes because of the pain.

He looked at Tsunade and saw that she was totally worn out. She gasped for air as her sweat began to fall down from her face.

Sakura walked towards the two, surprised at what she saw. "Hogake-sama?"

Tsunade quickly looked at Sakura with a shocked look on her face. "Sakura... so you are ok?"

Sakura began to walk forward so that she stood next to Naruto, who was still rubbing his head. Sakura quickly bowed down to Tsunade and stayed that way, "I'm so sorry, Hokage-sama! I shouldn't have left the hospital. But I really, really wanted to see Naruto, so...so..."

Naruto looked at Sakura; she actually risked her own life just to see him.

"Sakura, Naruto!" Tsunade said in a stern voice, making both of them jump. Sakura regained her standing position, and Naruto broke his gaze from Sakura. They now both looked at Tsunade, not actually wanted to think about what was going to happen to them.

She looked so mad.

They both gulped, as Tsunade began to walk towards them.

"Do you realise what you have done?!" She asked angrily.

Sakura and Naruto tightly closed their eyes, as they prepared for the hit.

That never came.

They both felt a warm arm wrapping around them; Tsunade was hugging the both of them.

This most defiantly surprised them, not to mention it shocked them. They didn't say anything, as they both felt her warmth, her love and protection.

"You two are such idiots," She whispered to them. "how come you would think you could run from your problems? Did it ever occurred to you... that you could come to me?"

This made them feel guilty. They never thought about coming to Tsunade for their problems.

They felt that Tsunade was hugging them tighter. "I'm so glad you kids are ok... I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you."

And without him noticing, Naruto moved his hand to the necklace that Tsunade gave him.

"Tsunade-sama! Don't run so quick, I can't keep-" Shizune yelled, as she reached panting and sweating the front door. She became immediately quiet when she saw the three hugging each other in silence, with their eyes closed.

Shizune smiled as the saw the sight, and kept quiet as she didn't wanted to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

She just hoped that moments like this can come more often.

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Waaaaaaai! Done with this chapter! My back hurts X3 Hope you liked it, and I hope you didn't find it too boring.

Oh-ho-ho! They didn't kissed yet, will that happen? Oh yes, that will happen! When? How should I know, I just make these chapters right on the spot.

Stay tuned for more chapters and reviews are always welcome!


	11. It Just Begins

Hey there! Sorry for the wait… I, well, whatever.

Enjoy chapter 11!

Talking: "..."

Thinking: "..."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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**Chapter 11: It Just Begins**

"Give your report."

"Sir! We indeed found Naruto Uzumaki. But it seemed he was too strong to defeat."

"Even for Sasuke-kun?"

"Well... it seemed that Sasuke was weaker at that moment..."

Orochimaru closed his eyes and grinned. "Seems like our Sasuke-kun isn't fully learned as he thought he would be..." He opened his eyes again and looked straight at one of the men who were with Sasuke that evening.

"What caused Naruto-kun's kyuubi form?"

"Ah, sir, it apparently was caused because Sasuke hurt his friend who was with him that evening."

This caught Orochimaru's attention. "So you're saying Naruto-kun went crazy because one of his friends got hurt?" He asked the men in a evil-like tone.

This made the men gulp, "Y-yes, sir. It was a girl. She had pink hair." One said.

Orochimaru knew who she was. 'Of course, so obvious...' He thought as he stood up, walking towards the door.

He looked at the two men, "You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" The two men said, quickly making their exit, glad that they were still alive.

"Well, Naruto-kun, it seems that I found your greatest weakness." Orochimaru said to himself as he walked through one of the long halls of his lair. "Let us test her skills..." He said as he disappeared into the darkness.

It was fall in Konoha, as the leafs fell down on the ground, and the air became colder. But that was not the reason for not going to Ichiraku's for some ramen.

"Say, Naruto, do you believe in guardian angels?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked Sakura, while finishing his ramen. Naruto had invited Sakura to Ichiraku's for some ramen.

Sakura continued, "Well...you know... someone who looks over you... from heaven. Someone who protects you from danger?"

Naruto had put his bowl down and looked at Sakura. It looked like he was thinking of his answer. "Mh...No, no, not really." Naruto finally replied, somehow disappointing Sakura.

"Oh, really...? Not even a feeling that there was?" She continued to ask.

"No, not that I can remember. Why do you wanna know, Sakura-chan?"

"O-oh, well.. no reason, really. I just wanted to know... that's all." She replied, ending her sentence while laughing nervously. Naruto just shrugged as he finished his bowl.

Sakura wasn't sure if she should tell him that she met his mother, let alone that she is his guardian angel. He would probably think she was crazy.

"Naruto, I have to go. I have to run some errands for my mother." Sakura said as she stood up, putting her red scarf around her neck.

Naruto stood up as well, "Do you want me to walk you home?" Naruto offered, but Sakura shook her head.

"Thank you, Naruto, but I'm fine. Besides, it's still day, so there's no danger." She said as she smiled.

Naruto smiled as well, "You're right, Sakura-chan. I'll see you soon, right?"

"Of course!" Sakura smiled as she took a step forward to give Naruto a kiss on the cheek. She pulled back, only to see a shocked Naruto with a blush on his cheeks. She giggled as she blushed as well.

"Bye." She said as she walked away. Naruto was still shocked as his mind failed to remember what just happened.

"I knew she was your girlfriend!" The manager said as he saw what happened. This remark made Naruto's face even redder.

He turned his face towards the manager, "She's not!" He defended. The manager just shrugged as he continued his work.

"But I wish she was..." Naruto whispered as he walked out Ichiraku's, on his way home.

Sakura never felt this good. She kicked the fallen leaves away that were on her path, as her scarf danced with the wind.

She knew why she felt so good; because she was able to spent time with Naruto. She never want to lose him, ever again.

While she walked on a leaf-covered path, she noticed something strange; there was no one around her. Normally, there would be a few people who would make their way to the market or the other way around.

'This is strange...' Sakura thought, as she unconsciously began to walk faster.

The wind began to blow harder, as the leaves started to twirl around her. She came to an abrupt halt, as if someone grabbed her feet.

"This chakra... It's enormous!" She knew only one person who had this chakra.

'Behind me?!' She quickly turned around, only to see-

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards her.

"Naruto?" She whispered, surprised to see him. She looked before her again, only to notice that the huge chakra was gone. Although it was gone, Sakura had still an uneasy feeling.

Naruto finally caught up, "Sakura-chan! I'm glad I still got hold of you." He panted.

"What's up, Naruto?" She asked, actually surprised to see him. Her heart began to beat faster, but she wasn't sure if it was because of what just happened, or because Naruto's here.

Naruto began rubbing the back of his head, while blushing a bit, "Well... I don't have anything to do, actually, so if it's ok if I help you with those errands?" He held his eyes closed while grinning.

Sakura softly smiled, "Of course you can, Naruto." Naruto's blush disappeared and he smiled as well. He walked besides her, kicking away some leaves.

But Sakura's uneasy feeling didn't go away, "Naruto, did you felt something strange, just before you caught up with me?" She asked him.

Naruto looked at her, "Mh? No, I didn't feel anything." He replied.

"Oh, than it's just me." Sakura smiled.

More leaves began to fall down, and Sakura loved every sight of it. But somehow, the leaves were also slippery.

Sakura took one step forward and, with her luck, she stepped on one of the wet leaves. She fell backwards, giving a little shriek.

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, as both of them didn't noticed that Sakura grabbed Naruto's jacket, bringing him down with her.

They fell down with a thud, with Naruto on top of Sakura.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Sakura said, her eyes still closed. She felt something heavy on her; that can't be good. She slowly opened her eyes, only to be looking in Naruto's bright blue eyes. She didn't even noticed that he was blushing, but she felt that she was.

"Are... you ok, Sakura-chan?" Naruto almost whispered, speaking with a soft voice.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine... How about you?" She also whispered, never looking away from his eyes.

"Yeah..." Was his only answer. Sakura couldn't blame him; she couldn't get much out as well.

Without them noticing, their face were drawn closer. "Naruto... I think...I..." Sakura began, but more than that didn't came out.

Their lips barely touched each other, as she felt Naruto lips moving on hers while he whispered; "I know... I do too..." He closed his eyes, as she did the same. He finally touched her lips, giving her a soft kiss.

It wasn't a passionate or hard kiss, no, it was a soft kiss, an un-experienced kiss, like they were scared to go any further.

Naruto never felt this happy; he finally kissed the girl he had a crush on for so long. But he now knew it was no longer a crush; it was real love. He loved her.

Sakura felt the same way. They way he was kissing her, made her feel like she could fly. Her arms made their way to his neck, kissing him deeper.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever. They were out of breath. They slowly pulled away, wanting to taste each other lips just for a little bit longer until they broke away. They opened their eyes at the same time, seeing each others gorgeous eyes again.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered as he lifted his head just slightly.

The wind began to blow harder again, as the leaves twirled around them. Suddenly, Sakura's eyes went wide, as she felt that same chakra again.

"Naruto, this chakra...!" Sakura said, fear in her voice.

Naruto looked at her confused, "What...?" But she didn't had to answer anymore; he was here.

There was an evil laugh being heard from behind them. Naruto quickly stood up, while helping Sakura as well to stand up. He immediately stood before Sakura to protect her.

"Naruto-kun... seems like you are enjoying your day..." Naruto was now sure that it was him.

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Orochimaru..." Another evil laugh was heard as Orochimaru's body became visible right before Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto began to sweat; he knew he was no match for Orochimaru. Sakura wasn't taking this light either; she knew what Orochimaru could do, she knew what he had done.

Tears began to form in Sakura's eyes, tears of fear.

"It seems you were too strong for Sasuke-kun, am I correct?" Orochimaru grinned, as he took little steps forward.

Naruto actually growled; he didn't knew from himself what happened, but he heard it in the hospital.

"What's it to you?" Naruto asked, trying not to show his fear.

Orochimaru grinned, "Well, that just means I have to train Sasuke-kun harder, right?" Naruto didn't say anything, he just glared hard at him.

Orochimaru continued; "But I don't need him to know your true weakness, right, Naruto-kun?" He said, as he glared over Naruto's shoulder, right to Sakura who was frozen to the ground.

Naruto noticed he was talking about Sakura; that made him even more angry. "You leave her out of this!" He yelled, forgetting his fear for a moment.

"Oh?" Orochimaru said, and without warning, his neck became long and changed into snake skin, aiming for Sakura.

Naruto quickly grabbed a kunai from his side pocket to defend her and himself, but Orochimaru was too fast. He practically pushed Naruto away with his head, making Naruto fly backwards.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she wanted to go after him, but was stopped by Orochimaru.

"You are coming with me..." He said as he quickly moved his head around her, making his neck some kind of rope to hold Sakura. He moved so quick, that she hadn't had the time to grab a kunai.

Orochimaru had Sakura tightly in his grip, making it impossible for Sakura to escape.

"Let... go!" She said while struggling. But Orochimaru didn't move an inch. His head appeared on the right side of Sakura's head.

"Now, let's see if your prince can save you from this." He said, as he pulled his neck back in, making Sakura fly towards him. She shrieked as she couldn't escape.

As Orochimaru's head was back on his lace, his neck turned normal, and for a split second, he let Sakura go. Only to make his arms longer and capture her again. His arms were a few times around her, so that she couldn't escape.

"You let her go right now!" Naruto yelled, and began to attack him. Orochimaru could see his cold, red eyes.

Orochimaru grinned, enjoying the show. "You can have her back, Naruto-kun... only if you are able to find me... and able to kill Sasuke-kun."

This shocked both Naruto and Sakura; he wants Naruto to kill his pupil?

Naruto was still outraged; "No!" Naruto screamed as he charged at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru still grinned, as he jumped backwards, slowly disappearing with Sakura. Sakura noticed this, and began to struggle more.

"Naruto...Naruto!" She screamed. She was able to free one arm, wanting to reach Naruto. Tears were falling down her face, as she wanted desperately to grab his hand.

Naruto did the same, as he reached out to her, while jumping towards her. "Sakura-chan!" He almost reached her, and when he did, Orochimaru disappeared, together with Sakura. Orochimaru left while his evil laugh was still heard.

Naruto landed on his feet, his eyes once again turning back to blue, as he fell on his knees. The only thing he caught, were Sakura's tears.

"Sakura-chan!"

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Oh no, she got kidnapped! What an amazing turn of events! (sarcasm)

But don't worry, it doesn't end here. And they kissed! W00t! Hope you liked that scene a bit. What's going to happen next? Is Naruto really gonna be able to kill Sasuke? Will he even find Sakura and Orochimaru?

(sigh) The suspense, the suspense.

Oh yeah, I know Orochimaru usually has henchmen to get stuff for him, but isn't it just way funnier to make him do it instead?

Review please!


	12. No More Believing

Hey guys, thanks for the wait! Did you liked the kiss? I have it drawn on my DeviantArt page, check it out. Let's continue, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: "…"

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**Chapter 12: No More Believing**

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" There was a pounding sound, a hard pounding sound on a table.

"Calm down, Naruto. We haven't lost yet." Tsunade said, with a rather angry voice.

"But I _have!_" Naruto stopped pounding on the table, his hands feeling sore. He shut his eyes tight, his body shaking.

Both Tsunade and Shizune didn't say anything. Tsunade sat behind her desk while leaning her head on the back of her hands. She closed her eyes, preparing for what she was about to say.

"You failed to protect her." She said, her eyes still closed.

Naruto slightly opened his eyes as he looked down, "Yes I have…" He barely managed to get out.

"She counted on you to save her." Tsunade said, slowly opening her eyes to look at Naruto.

"Yes… she… did…" Although Tsunade couldn't see his face very well, but she knew he was on the verge of tears.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune said softly, wanting Tsunade to stop. Naruto didn't deserve this, he did the best he could, right?

But Tsunade continued; "Do you _want_ to save her?"

At this, Naruto's head shot up, looking fiercely at Tsunade. "I would do anything." He quickly wiped the beginning tears from his eyes, and looked straight at Tsunade.

Tsunade gave a little smile as she stood up, her face becoming serious again. "Ok, let's figure out together on how we are going to save Sakura." She said, looking at both Shizune and Naruto.

"Yes!" Shizune and Naruto said at the same time, while walking towards Tsunade.

"What were his orders?" Tsunade asked Naruto.

Naruto took a deep breath, "I had to find him… and kill Sasuke."

Shizune gasped, shocked by what she heard. But Tsunade didn't move, nor did she flinch.

"I see… Are you going to?" She asked Naruto.

"I don't know…" Tsunade made an irritated sigh.

"How can you ever save Sakura when you are not determent about this?!" Tsunade almost yelled.

"How would you know, Tsunade-obaachan?!" Naruto yelled. "Sasuke… Sasuke is my best friend. I fought so hard to bring him back! And I promised to Sakura-chan to bring him back…" Naruto felt like he was totally misunderstood.

"You think I don't know? You think I don't know what it's like to lose someone dear to you?" Tsunade asked, walking towards Naruto.

Naruto stayed quiet; he didn't knew about her past, but the way he saw her shaking with the fight with Orochimaru made him have a feeling that something horrible must have happened.

"If you don't know what you are going to do," Tsunade continued. "then you are not suited for this mission."

As if he was stabbed in the guts while hearing that, his eyes went wide, feeling weak in the legs. "W-what?!"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said, clearly going to defend Naruto. "How can you say that?! Naruto is the only one who can do this mission."

"I am the only one who _wants_ this mission." Naruto interrupted. Shizune and Tsunade looked at him. It seems he had recovered from Tsunade's words.

He continued, "_I _am the one who didn't protect Sakura-chan! _I _am the one who let Orochimaru get away!"

"Even if you would take this mission, you wouldn't know where to look, right?" Tsunade asked him, her arms crossed.

This lowered Naruto's spirit. "No, I don't…" He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Tsunade standing next to him, with a smiling Shizune on the background.

"Then, let's figure it out together; I might have an idea where his lair could be."

Naruto smiled on of his big smiles, "Alright!" He looked outside the window, seeing the whole village from there. 'Just wait, Sakura-chan, just wait a little bit longer. I am going to save you, an then, I'm never letting you go…'

"Where… am I?" Sakura said as she looked around her, seeing nothing but a large empty room. It was not _her_ room, that's for sure.

She noticed that was sitting on a bed; the only thing that was in that room. 'I must have past out…' She thought. 'Wait, what exactly happened?' As soon as she asked herself that, she received flashbacks about what happened.

She gritted her teeth, "Orochimaru…" She quickly stood up, but noticed that she didn't had any strength in her legs. She immediately fell down on the hard, cold ground.

"What… did he do to me..?" Sakura said as she tried to move her legs, but they wouldn't budge.

"Good, you are finally up." Sakura shot her head up, looking towards the person who said that.

"Ka…buto-san?" Sakura looked rather surprised. What was he doing here? And rather, why did he wore the Sound symbol?

"Did they caught you as well?" She knew it was a silly thing to ask. She already knew… that he wasn't a captive.

He laughed, rather bitter. "Silly little blossom, don't you see the symbol right here?" He pointed to his headband.

She was right.

"You dirty little…" She growled. Kabuto wiggled with his finger, making a disapproval sign.

"Now, we aren't going to fight, are we, Sakura-san?" He walked over to her, and kneeled down. "I was only taking orders to be a spy. I do not see any harm in that."

"Shut up!" She yelled, and lunged her fist at him. He stopped it with ease.

"Feeling a little weak everywhere, Sakura-san?" He said while grinning.

Sakura was shocked to see her punch stopped. She knew she couldn't move her legs, but did that affected her arms as well?

"What... did you do?" Sakura asked him, while feeling weaker with the second.

Kabuto grinned even more, "I am a medical ninja, I have my tricks."

'A medical ninja?' Sakura thought. 'Just like Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san?'

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Kabuto said, while standing up. "I have to wait for Orochimaru-sama's orders." He walked away, leaving Sakura on the ground.

"Wait!" She said. He actually stopped at her call and slightly turned his head towards Sakura.

Sakura continued, "What is he planning, that Orochimaru? Does he really... want Naruto to kill Sasuke?"

She could practically hear him grin, "Well, I don't need to answer that question, right Sakura-san? You know the answer already."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "No..." She got out without her even noticing.

Kabuto didn't say anything, but she knew he had a evil grin on his face. He closed the door behind him, leaving Sakura alone in the empty room.

Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. She noticed that her hands were getting wet, meaning that the tears were already falling.

All her hope was drained from her body. "Naruto... don't come..." She still couldn't get up, and she knew that her beginning medical ninjutsu couldn't heal her.

"What are you doing here?"

Sakura's head shot up; that was Kabuto's voice.

"You know you can't be here, you don't have the orders." Kabuto said, clearly talking to someone just outside Sakura's room.

"You should know that I do not take orders, not from you, not from him." A males voice said, different then Kabuto's; a voice she knew all too well.

"I _want_ to see her." The other person roughly said.

"Tsk." Kabuto said, and it seemed he gave up to stop the person. Sakura could hear footsteps fading. She figured that Kabuto left.

Then the only one that was here was...

"It seems that you are still weak." The person said, who just came through the door of the room.

She looked down again, not wanting to see him. She only softly whispered his name, "Sasuke..."

He immediately noticed that she didn't called him 'Sasuke-kun'. He walked towards her, his eyes not leaving her figure.

She still refused to look at him, she wasn't ready to look at him. The memories from that night came back, the memory from her injury came back.

She could hear the fabric of his clothes move really close to her, meaning that he was kneeling down in front of her.

She wanted to run, she wanted to get away from him, she doesn't want to be here.

"Sakura..."

Wait, was he actually calling her by her name?

Although she didn't wanted to, she slowly lifted her head, so that she could look him in the eyes.

But his expression wasn't what she hoped it would be; it was still cold, with no emotion.

She noticed something; he wasn't looking in her eyes, he was looking at where he stabbed her.

Although it was completely healed, it, right now, was hurting her like hell. And as an reflex, her hand reachedn up to were her wound was.

"Does it still hurt?" Sasuke asked, scaring Sakura by the sudden question.

She looked away from him again, "N-no..." She said, her voice so small, not like Sakura at all.

"So, it didn't kill you." Sakura didn't knew what it was, but that comment made her angry, pissed even.

"How could you say that?!" She blurted out, but she didn't care, she was mad. "Did you wanted it to kill me? Was that your plan from the beginning?! To kill both Naruto and me? How could you! To think that... I still believed in you!" Sakura stopped, breathing hard. She didn't feel so good, she was sweating all over.

"Only Naruto." He said, with no emotion in his voice.

"What?" Sakura said still gasping for air.

"I was only out to kill Naruto, I didn't meant to harm you."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You were out to kill Naruto?! Don't you have any emotion at all? Naruto is your friend."

"He was never my friend."

"Yes, he was and he still is! Do you know how much trouble he is going trough just to get you back? Even if he saw you talking like this, he would still try to bring you back." Sakura retorted.

"He is just weak."

"No, Sasuke, you are the one who is weak. You are running away from us, don't you think that's weak?"

"No." Was his answer.

"You are unbelievable..." Sakura muttered under her breath.

"How would you react if I kill Naruto?" Sasuke asked Sakura, still no emotion heard in his voice.

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked, eyes wide.

"Dead serious." Sasuke said.

Suddenly, there was a hard slap echoing in the room. Sasuke's cheek burned, as his head was slightly tilted to the side.

Sakura had slapped him.

It wasn't an hard slap, simply because she didn't had her strength back. But because of her anger, it was hard enough.

Sakura still had her arm in the air, breathing hard. She wasn't shocked at herself for slapping him; she actually wanted to slap him for a long time. Slap him back to his senses.

For a moment, she could she a shocked expression on Sasuke's face. Sakura grinned at herself for such an 'victory', but it was for a short time, as Sasuke regained his emotionless face as he turned to her.

Sakura showed no fear this time; she didn't care what happened to her now. She had shown her true feelings to him.

He suddenly moved his arms around her, and stood up, carrying her with him in bridal style. Sakura was confused at that moment; what is he planning?

Sasuke walked over to her bed, and lay her down. Since Sakura still hadn't regained strength in her legs, she couldn't run away.

"Soon, it's over." He said, as he made a quick movement with his right arm. Sakura felt an sting in her left arm, as she looked what he was doing; he was injecting her with something.

"Sa...suke..." Sakura managed to get out, before her eye-lids became heavy, and that she couldn't move her body.

She knew he injected her with a sleeping medicine.

Then her world went black.

"Tsunade-obaachan! Let's go! Hurry!" Naruto yelled with anxiety while standing at the main gate of Konoha.

"Naruto! Nothing good will come if you rush yourself like this." Tsunade said as she came walking towards Naruto together with Jiraiya.

"As long as I can do my research, I'll be fine." Jiraiya said, as he walked with both pen and paper.

"We are not going to do that, Ero-sennin! We have to save Sakura-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Jiraiya said, as he walked with Naruto.

Before Tsunade went after them, she turned around. "I trust you with Konoha, Shizune. We'll try to be back soon." She knew she could trust Shizune; she has as much knowledge as Tsunade.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. Just... be careful, all three of you." Shizune said, concern clearly heard in her voice.

Tsunade grinned with her eyes closed. "Right, leave it to me!" She quickly turned around and walked after Naruto and Jiraiya, who were waiting for her.

And even after Tsunade said that, Shizune still had an uneasy feeling deep down.

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Phew, glad that's over with. Sakura slapped Sasuke, lol. Ah, feels so good to write :D

Review please!


	13. Hallucinations

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, holiday preparations mh?

Enjoy chapter 13!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: "…"

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**Chapter 13: Hallucinations**

"So, Sasuke-kun went to see her?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama, but I don't know what he was doing there." Kabuto said. He immediately went to Orochimaru when Sasuke went to Sakura's room.

"It seems that Sasuke-kun still feels some sort of bond with his old team-mates." Orochimaru said, while sitting on his chair.

"That could be a problem..." Kabuto muttered, but was clearly heard by Orochimaru.

He grinned while hearing this. "Maybe not," he earned a confused look from Kabuto. "let's watch. What will Sasuke-kun do if something happened to her? We know Naruto-kun would bring Kyuubi out, then would Sasuke-kun, perhaps, bring his Sharingan out? The Sharigan _I_ want."

Kabuto didn't say anything, because if he did, it would cost him his life.

"You are dismissed, Kabuto." Orochimaru suddenly said, making Kabuto jump a little. He made a quick bow, and almost hurried outside.

"I'm not so sure about that, Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said as soon as he was far away from Orochimaru's room.

Sakura woke up with an terrible headache. Her hand went to her head, hoping the aching would subside, but it didn't.

'Wait, I... can move?!' Sakura thought, forgetting her headache for a moment. She sat up straight in her bed, wiggling her fingers, wiggling her toes.

'Seems like the drugs wore off.' She tried to stand, she was dizzy at first, but it seemed that standing wasn't a problem either.

She tried walking in a straight line, which immediately looked like she was drunk. Ok, scrap walking in a straight line, but at least walking went good.

She still had the same clothes on she wore with the date. She felt dizzy, and quickly sat on the bed, her head in her hands.

'Ok, what happened?' She asked herself while trying to recall everything. 'I'm... in Orochimaru's hideout...' She shut her eyes, her headache growing worse. But she has to make a plan to escape. She can't risk... that something happens to Naruto when he comes here. Because she _knew_ he would come for her, to save her, to take her in his arms and softly whispering that everything would be ok.

She shook her head again, immediately receiving stings in her head. 'Now is not the time to think about that. I need to get out of here. Let's see...' Sakura looked around the room, seeing that her only escape route was trough the door. There were no windows in her room and if it wasn't for that one light, the room would be completely dark.

She stood up again and walked towards the door. She touched the door with one hand, analysing the thickness and strength of the door. It was a stale door. She took one step back and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and thought of something that, well, really made her angry.

"Shannaro!" She screamed and she kicked the door. There was a loud bang, but the door didn't move.

Sakura was already gasping for air, as she thought she used all her strength in the kick.

She grinned, 'Not there yet, not there yet!' She prepared herself for another kick, taking another deep breath.

"Shannaro!!" Another hard kick, now with her full strength. There was a louder bang then before, and Sakura saw the door falling n the ground.

"Yes!" Sakura said, proud of herself. She quickly put a hand on her head, as her headache got worse. 'What did they do to me?' She suddenly remembered Sasuke, how he came in her room, how she slapped him and how he drugged her.

She looked in the hallway, which she found a bit strange; there was no one to be seen. Or she was lucky, or they were all extremely deaf.

"Anyway," She said out loud. "I need to get out of here. Question is..." She looked to her left, she looked to her right. "Where to?" She went with her feeling and went right. She figured the exit would be in the back.

She ran as quickly as she can, and it seemed there was no ending to this one hallway. She looked behind her; she still wasn't followed. Somehow, she stopped. Something wasn't right. She felt no chakra, she heard no one, she saw no one.

"Is this a dream?" She asked out loud.

"On the contrary," A voice said, an well known voice.

Sakura began to sweat, but not because she knew the voice. She didn't feel well, and her headache made her ears ring.

She turned around, and saw Kabuto standing there.

"K-Kabuto-san..." She gasped, breathing heavily. She felt like she was getting worse by the second.

Kabuto didn't seemed to notice this, though. "Remarkable how you escaped. But, that was to be expected from one of the students from Tsunade-sama, right?" He said while smirking.

"C-cut me some slack..." She said, sweating now and still gasping for air.

"Oh? Didn't you do this yourself? Weren't you the one who escaped? You could say this is one of the consequences." Kabuto said, as he walked over to Sakura.

"N-Naruto would never fall for this trap." Sakura said, as she wiped some sweat from her face.

"Oh, I think he would. He's in love with you, he wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

'He's... in love with me...' She thought. It was true, because, she is also...

"It is sad, though." Kabuto continued. "He is going to die because of you." Sakura's eyes went wide. Was this true? Of course, she was here, she let herself get captured and now Naruto is going to get killed.

She let out a cough, feeling her legs get weaker. Kabuto finally noticed this, and smirked.

"Ah yes, those are one of the side effects. Your have the worst case of side effects, so I see."

"You..." Although Sakura didn't had much strength anymore, she still attacked him. She ran towards him with one fist ready too attack.

Kabuto could easily see where she was going to attack, and dodged her fist. He managed to grab her fist, and started to hold it tighter and tighter. This made Sakura whimper under his grip.

Suddenly, Sakura was seeing double. 'Oh, no... this isn't good... I've gotta get out of here...' She thought as she tried to free her hand from Kabuto's grip.

"You are not getting away." Kabuto said. Her legs gave in, as she fell on the ground.

She faintly heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't had the strength look behind her. She heard Kabuto growl, so she figured it wasn't Orochimaru.

"You again. You are forbidden to be here." Kabuto said, with some fear in his voice for this one person.

"I can be wherever I want." The voice replied.

'Sasuke...' Sakura said, as she recognised the voice like no other. She heard Kabuto growl again.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Kabuto asked.

"I heard the prisoner had escaped," Sasuke said, and Sakura knew he was talking about her. "so I came to see if everything was going as Orochimaru planned."

"Everything is going fine, as you can see." Kabuto replied coldly.

"Yes... so I can see..." Sasuke said with an cold voice, and Sakura knew he was looking at her.

It was clearly audible that she was taking deep, heavy breaths.

Sasuke noticed this as well, "Is she sick?" He asked, still no emotion in his voice.

Kabuto looked at the sitting Sakura, still her hand in his. "Yes, it seems like she caught the side effects of the drugs."

"Does she shows the effects of hallucination?"

"No, not yet, but she is breathing heavily, has an headache and a fever."

"You are a medical ninja, aren't you? Can't you ease her pain a bit?" Although someone would normally say this with compassion, this was Sasuke who said it, so there was no compassion or any of that sort noticeable in his voice.

"Well, young Uchiha, it seems like you care for her, do you not?" Kabuto said with a grin, he was almost positive that Sasuke felt something for Sakura, just like Orochimaru said.

Just as Kabuto said that, Sasuke shot him and cold look that would made you flinch.

"No, why else do you think I abandoned these good for nothing team mates?"

Kabuto grinned, continuing. "Why else would you ask if the girl is ok?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, and grabbed Sakura from Kabuto's grip. He hold her in bridal style and turned around.

"What are you doing?!" Kabuto asked, as he was surprised by Sasuke's sudden movement.

Sasuke didn't turn around. "I'm bringing her to _my_ room. Don't let anyone come, understood?" With that said, he made his way to his room, leaving Kabuto behind.

"Tsk." Kabuto said, as he also made his way back.

Sakura couldn't move, she could barely speak. The dizziness wouldn't sop, and she was sweating a lot. She was certain she had a fever. And did they said anything about hallucinations?

'No...' She thought, while Sasuke was carrying her somewhere in bridal style. 'Sasuke, let go... I want get out of here... Naruto... Naruto...'

"_Sakura-chan!"_

Sakura opened her eyes a bit, as she heard the voice she was dying to hear. 'Naruto...?' Was he really here?

"_Sakura-chan! It's ok now, I'm here!"_ An orange coloured silhouette was forming right before her and it was running towards her.

"No... don't come here..." Sakura said softly, but was still heard by Sasuke. He looked at her, wondering what she was saying.

"Naruto... stay back..." He knew she was hallucinating from the drugs, but she was hallucinating about Naruto?

"_Sakura-chan, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." _The Naruto hallucination said as he came closer to her.

"Naruto... They are after you... You have to run... You have to live." Sakura muttered, slowly reaching her arms out to, what she saw, Naruto.

Sasuke got in his room, and softly lay Sakura on his bed. Her eyes were closed again and she was sweating heavily. Sasuke had put an hand on her head to check her temperature; defiantly a fever.

"_Sakura-chan, I love you and I would never leave you for my own good, I would never. I love you so much."_ The Naruto hallucination said.

Sasuke could see a tiny and weak smile on Sakura's face. He heard Sakura taking a breath, knowing that she was going to say something.

"Naruto... I love you too..."

"Tsunade-obaachan, are you sure the information you got is correct? I mean, how can we rust some guy?" Naruto asked, as he, Tsunade and Jiraiya exited a tiny town in which they made a resting stop in.

"I am positive!" Tsunade said happily.

Jiraiya walked over to Naruto and whispered something in his ear; "She used her brutal strength to get the information, not her... _charm_." At this, Naruto shivered, suddenly feeling sorry for the guy.

Luckily, Tsunade didn't hear him, and walked down the path. She stopped and turned around, "Hurry up, you two! Orochimaru's hideout isn't that far away!"

"Why is she so happy?" Naruto asked confused.

"She won... some money with her... erm, luck. Well, she actually lost, but when she got mad, those guys gave her all the money." Jiraiya explained, with a sigh afterwards.

"Haha... some luck that is..." Naruto said.

"What is taking you two so long?! We don't have all day, you know?!" Tsunade said, now getting angry at the two.

"She's back..." The two said at the same time. They quickly ran after her, not exactly knowing what was ahead of them. But whatever it was, together they were strong.

"Sakura-chan, just a little more. I'm going to get you back, and then we'll be together..."

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Nyaaaaaaah! If I don't upload before Christmas, I have one thing to say: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Review please


	14. Change of Heart

Hello there! Happy (late) New Year everybody! Ready to kick some ass in 2008:D

Enjoy chapter 14!

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**Chapter 14: Change of Heart**

"Naruto, you came for me..."

"Of course, Sakura-chan! I would never, ever abandon you..." Naruto said, as he walked closer to Sakura.

She, however, did not move. She only stared at him. He noticed this sad look on her face.

He stopped walking and looked her right in the eyes. "Sakura-chan... what's wrong?" He saw that she bent her head down, making it difficult to see her eyes.

"It's too late..." She whispered, but Naruto could hear her clearly.

"W-what?" He asked her, taking one step closer to her; he could almost touch her.

Her head suddenly snapped up, her eyes no longer sad. She looked fiercely at him and if looks could kill, Naruto would be dead.

"You are too late, Naruto." She repeated, her voice as cold as ice.

Naruto shook his head, his hands reaching out to her shoulders, grabbing them tightly.

"What?!" Naruto said, the dark room they were in was echoing his voice.

Sakura continued, "I have joined Orochimaru. I can become stronger when he trains me."

Naruto was speechless. She was joining Orochimaru. While Sakura was saying this, a snake crawled around her neck, but Sakura didn't move an inch.

"That's right, Naruto-kun, you lost..." The snake spoke, having an familiar voice that Naruto didn't wanted to hear.

The snakes head transformed into a hand and arm, while the rest of the snake's body also began to take form; the body of another snake.

"Orochimaru..." Naruto growled. There he was again, standing on the left side of Sakura, holding her with one arm around her neck where once the snake was.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, bringing Naruto's attention to her. He saw a smirk on her face, an evil smirk.

"You have failed to protect me, you lost."

'I... lost...' Naruto thought to himself, making him sick with the thought. He felt like the room was spinning, and could barely stand on his feet.

"You failed to save both of us." Another voice came from behind Sakura and Orochimaru. Orochimaru removed his arm from Sakura's shoulder, only to be replaced by two other arms, who were holding her tightly. Sakura seemed to enjoy the hold from the person.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura sighed, closing her eyes. "You are right again."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto said, losing all his strength from just looking at this. He didn't even had the strength to growl at Sasuke and Orochimaru.

"Sakura-kun, Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru began, looking at Naruto with a evil grin before continuing. "Kill him."

Naruto's eyes went wide, as he saw Sasuke and Sakura take their fighting position. He felt like he was no match for them, like his whole spirit was drained from his body.

"No!"

He shot up from the ground, his sweat dripping on the ground. He looked around him; he was in the woods?

"A... dream...?" Naruto looked in front of him, seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade sleeping soundly. "A dream." He repeated to himself, wiping away some sweat.

He somehow felt so dirty from that dream. He knew there was a creek nearby. He stood up, quietly so that he didn't woke Jiraiya and Tsunade.

He walked towards the creek, where the water reflected the moonlight. He kneeled down and made a cup of his hands to gather some water from the creek. He splashed the water that he had in his face, feeling the cold water sting in his face. He took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

'What is the matter with you, Naruto? It was just a dream, get over it, you haven't lost yet...' He looked up at the moon while thinking that last sentence.

He sighed; they were now close to Orochimaru's hideout after travelling for about three days. Tsunade said it would be best to rest for tomorrow, when they were going to infiltrate the lair. Naruto was against it, now that they were so close. Tsunade won the round, though, after she threatened to teach him a lesson if he didn't obey her.

"Aw, there are no girls bathing here!" A older males voice said from behind Naruto.

"I never said there was..." Naruto said to the person, who he recognised without even turning around.

"Huh, then I must've dreamed it." Jiraiya said as he sat beside Naruto. "What are you doing here, kiddo?" He asked Naruto who was still looking at the water of the creek.

"I had... a nightmare..." Naruto replied, holding his knees close to him.

"Was it about Sakura?" Jiraiya said, looking at the moon. He could feel that Naruto was looking at him, probably with his eyes wide.

"How did you know, Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Because I'm one of the great three sannin!" He said proudly. He looked Naruto, seeing if he bought it.

He didn't.

Jiraiya quickly coughed and continued, "And beside the point that we are on a journey to save her, you also screamed her name while sleeping."

"Oh..." Naruto said, as he looked down again. And without Jiriaya having to ask, Naruto began to explain his dream; "Sakura-chan had joined Orochimaru... And it was all my fault..."

"That's depressing." Jiraiya said, as he saw that Naruto was getting more and more upset. He shook his head, and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Naruto, that was just a dream. You know that, right?"

"Yes, of course I know! But... what if I'm too late to save her?"

"Naruto, I thought you knew how Sakura's mind goes?" Jiraiya said.

Naruto thought for a minute, "No, no I don't. I have absolutely no idea how Sakura-chan's mind works."

Jiraiya thought also about his own question. "Mh, I guess I have the same as with Tsunade..."

Naruto's head shot up, thinking he heard something interesting. "Ero-sennin, do you... by any chance... like Tsu-"

Jiraiya cut him of, "Quiet, quiet you. What I was trying say, is that you must know that Sakura would never choose the dark side, right?"

"N-no... I don't think so." Naruto said, as he gave it a thought. Sakura knew she was happy in Konoha; she was training with Tsunade, she had many friends and she is smart.

Naruto suddenly stood up, making Jiraiya jump a little with his reaction. "Yeah, you're right Ero-sennin! Sakura-chan would never do that!"

Jiraiya smiled at him, "Right, remember that Naruto."

Naruto nodded, "Right!" He suddenly yawned; he remembered it was still night. "Well, I'm gonna go back to bed, Ero-sennin. Goodnight." Naruto said, as he walked back to the camp.

Jiraiya watched him go, while he still sat on the ground. He grabbed a little stone next to him and threw it in the water.

"Haha... to think that Naruto almost discovered my own secret." He said to himself, before he stood up. He looked once more at the moon as he also returned to the camp.

"Ugh... my body... I feel so sore..." Sakura said, as she tried to move her body. She didn't knew where she was; it wasn't her room, that's for sure.

"Finally awake?" A voice said at the end of her bed. Because her ears were still ringing a bit, she didn't recognised the voice immediately. She looked at the end of her bed, seeing an all to familiar figure sitting there.

"Sasuke..." That's right, she was brought here by Sasuke after she collapsed when she was with Kabuto.

He didn't looked at her when she said his name, he just looked straight forward.

"Naruto will be here soon." He said, still not looking at her.

"Naruto..." She softly whispered. Sasuke noticed the soft tone in her voice. Like back in the days, when she was talking... to him.

"Do you think he's coming for you?" He asked her.

Her head shot up, trying to give him an angry look though she was still tired from her fever. "What are you talking about?!" She now asked him.

This time, he turned his head and gave her a cold look. "Don't you think he's only coming here because he wants to beat me? I _am _his rival, I _am_ the one he wants to top."

"No, Sasuke," She told him, with more confidence in her voice. "you are wrong." That was the first time she ever told him he was wrong.

But he wasn't faced by her.

She continued, "Naruto is coming for me," She saw him smirk a bit, but it quickly disappeared. "and for you."

Sasuke suddenly stood up, scaring Sakura a bit when doing so. He didn't say anything, but Sakura had the feeling he wanted to.

Sakura had set one foot on the ground, soon followed by another. Although she was still weak in the legs, she managed to stand.

"Are you in love with him?" Sasuke asked her. She jumped at the question; it wasn't Sasuke to ask something like that, nor to even being bothered with it.

Sakura decided to play dumb, she wanted to hear the name from his mouth one more time. "In love with who?"

She shouldn't have done that, and right after she asked, she knew she shouldn't have.

Sasuke completely turned around, his eyes blood-red. Although his body language didn't said it, Sakura could feel that he was furious.

"You know who I mean..." He almost hissed, his Sharingan clearly seen now.

Sakura never had seen him this way; Orochimaru had turned him into a whole different person, a monster almost.

"I want to hear his name from your mouth, Sasuke." Taking little steps forward, careful that she didn't lose her balance. Somehow, her feet were moving on their own.

She stretched her arm out towards his own arm. He was just looking at her, his eyes now redder then blood.

He made a sudden movement, gabbed her arm en threw her on the bed, with him on top. She was shocked by his sudden movement, but she didn't wanted to show him; she tried to give him an ice-cold look as well.

"You know who, you know who I mean!" He now fully hissed. He was angry, but was is just because he had to say the name again? Was it because Sakura didn't obey him by not answering his question? Was it because Sakura had most likely fallen for his rival? Was it...

Jealousy?

Sakura's eyes went wide as that last thought struck her. 'He's jealous? No, no, that can't be it. But why... is he so angry?' She asked herself.

They looked at each other while Sasuke held her arms down with his, preventing her to leave. Their faces were so close but Sakura didn't liked this moment like she maybe would when they were younger, when there were just three of them.

"Are you in love..." Sasuke paused, he was having trouble with the name, like it hurt him to say it... Or maybe _his_ name in _this_ sentence.

"Are you in love with Naruto?" He said it, still staring at her, never blinking, never leaving her gaze.

"Why do you care?" She asked him; he was toying with him. She continued to do so, "Why do you want to know, Sasuke?" She was on dangerous ground now; Sasuke could lose his patience.

"I heard you... when you were unconscious..." He started to tell her, while he held her down with more body pressure. "You were calling his name, you were hallucinating."

'What?' She asked herself. 'When did I do that? Right, right, I was unconscious, but I was hallucinating as well? I can't remember any of that.'

"I want to know, the reason is not important. Just tell me." He broke her thoughts with his cold voice.

She looked straight at him, not blinking once. "Yes, I am in love with Naruto. I love him."

He didn't say anything. He quickly got off her and walked towards the door. Leaving her pretty much confused behind.

He stopped walking just before the exit of the room and turned his head a little towards Sakura; "I'll bring you some food." And with that, he closed the door behind him, and she could hear he was locking it.

'Yeah,' She thought to herself. 'like I ever wanna try escaping again.'

She sighed deeply, and although she hated to admit it, she couldn't do anything right now. She raised both her hands and clasped them together, close to her face. She closed her eyes and began to pray.

"Naruto... please be careful."

&&&&&&&&&&

Yay! That was chapter 14 (already!) Hope you enjoyed it and next chapter, it is REALLY going to happen: Naruto and co arrives at the lair. Gasp, gasp, gasp!

Review please!


	15. Arrival

_First Kiss kara hajimaru, futari no koi no history_! Does anyone knows from which animé this is? I do! Lol, who knows, and who answers me first and correctly in a review... gets a.. cookie? Or would you like to have a exclusive one-shot story made by me? Ahaha, like you would...

Enjoy chapter 15!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: "…"

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 15: Arrival**

"_Are you in love with him?"_

"_In love with who?"_

"_Are you in love with Naruto?"_

"_Yes, I am in love with Naruto. I love him."_

Sakura sighed, as she remembered what she told Sasuke. "Why..." She whispered to herself, frustrated. "Why did I told him? I'm so stupid. What was I thinking?!"

She stood up from the bed she was sitting on, beginning to walk. She couldn't get any sleep last night, she just kept thinking about what she said ánd about Naruto.

She stopped walking and looked towards the door. She gave another sigh; "Naruto... please be careful."

Suddenly, the door was flung open. Sakura wasn't too happy to see _that_ person.

"Kabuto..." She nearly growled.

"It's time." He simply said as he walked towards Sakura.

She didn't understand him; "What are you talking about, time for what?!" She fiercely said.

She saw a grin appearing on Kabuto's face. She didn't like it one bit. She clenched her fist together. She had most of her strength back, and she wasn't planning on going with him without a fight.

Kabuto noticed that Sakura took her fighting position. He stopped walking, but the grin didn't disappear. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Sakura held her fists higher up, trying not to shake. She knew she was no match for Kabuto; he was a _very_ skilled medical ninja, something that she wanted to become. She wanted to be skilled as well, she even wanted to be feared by others.

"You are very entertaining, blossom." Kabuto said, with his eyes closed, shrugging.

In a blink of an eye, he started to run towards her. She almost couldn't see him, like he was faster than the speed of light.

'He's fast!' Sakura thought as she saw him approaching her with fast speed. She wanted to jump backwards, but she realised he was already in front of her.

She gasped, not being able to move anymore. He looked straight at her, his glasses sometimes glistering to cover his eyes.

She suddenly felt something cold coming from the back from her neck, slowly moving down. But it wasn't from the outside, she was injected with some kind of liquid.

Her eyes went big, her pupils small. She looked at Kabuto while her body went numb, unable to say anything.

Kabuto's grin went wider, as he retreated the injection, throwing it away over his shoulder. His face went closer to her, not holding her because she couldn't escape.

"I really hate to use these kind of methods, but if it's true that you are training with Tsunade-sama, then I really must take no risks." He whispered to her.

Sakura felt herself grew colder because of the liquid that had been taking over her body. She suddenly fell on the ground, not being able to stand up again, her eyes wide open.

'I...don't lose consciousness?' She thought to herself. She saw Kabuto bent down, his arms sneaking themselves under her body. He stood up, with Sakura in his arms.

He heard Sakura growl; "Let.. go..." She hissed.

He let out a laugh, looking at her. "Should I now? When you are like this? I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, you are part of our plan." He said while he walked through one of the long hallways in the lair.

"Plan?" Sakura whispered, but was heard by Kabuto.

"Yes, plan." He said to her while looking straight forward. "I might as well tell you. Orochimaru-sama needs both Sasuke ánd Naruto. Sasuke for his body, and Naruto for the Kyuubi."

"What?" Sakura got out. She knew about Sasuke's body, but Naruto's... nine-tailed fox? "No, you can't... Naruto... Sasuke... how..?" She couldn't get her words and sentences straight and right. Looks like the liquid was affecting that as well.

"Orochimaru-sama has stolen the method that could steal the bijuu's from the subject's body from the Akatsuki. They were careless over there." Kabuto explained.

"What happens when-"

"When the bijuu is sucked out from the subject's body?" He interrupted her. He stopped walking and turned his head to Sakura. There was a sick grin on his face.

"The subject dies."

Sakura was quiet, she didn't knew what to say. She wanted to cry, she wanted to cry so bad, but somehow, she couldn't.

Kabuto began to walk again, but stopped soon after that. Sakura could feel his body grew tense.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?" Kabuto asked to someone. Sakura couldn't see who because she couldn't move or turn her head towards this other person. But she didn't had to wonder who it was for long.

"What are you going to do to her?" He roughly asked Kabuto.

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered.

Kabuto let out a slight sigh. "She's here as bait for Naruto."

"Bait?" They could both here Sasuke was irritated by this. He suddenly turned around, his back facing Kabuto and Sakura. "Let her go, we have no use for her anymore. Naruto is going to be here very soon." He started to walk away, slowly though, like there was something else...

"Sasuke... stop...!" Sakura said, trying to yell. Sasuke did indeed stop, but didn't turned around. "They... kill Naruto... for Kyuubi!" That was the best she could get out, but it got Sasuke's attention.

"I am the one who will fight Naruto... You and Orochimaru should stay out of this. Don't even think about touching him, or I will kill both of you." With that said, Sasuke walked away again.

"Tsk," Sakura heard Kabuto say. "pesky little brat..." With that, Kabuto suddenly turned left, going into a dark room, taking Sakura with him.

"We're here..." Tsunade exclaimed. Jiraiya, Naruto and Tsunade arrived at the lair, that looked like it was hidden underground.

"Let's check out if this is really it." Jiraiya said. And as soon as he said that, he bit his thumb and a little bit of blood came out of the spot where he bit himself. He made some fast hand moves, which looked like seals. As soon as he was done with the seals, he quickly punt his hand on the ground. Around his hand, some more seals appeared in circles.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Jiraiya said as dust formed around Jiraiya's hand. When the dust was cleared, there was an orange frog with a blue sleeveless jacket sitting there.

"Yo!" It exclaimed when seeing everybody.

"Huh?! Why did you summoned Gamakichi? We don't have any use for him!" Naruto yelled.

"How rude, you little punk!" Gamakichi yelled back.

"On the contrary, Naruto. Gamakichi is excellent for scouting." Jiraiya said.

"That's right, don't you forget it!" He said to Naruto.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "Just go and find out if this is the real one or not!"

"Yes, yes..." Gamakichi said and hopped down the entrance. He saw that there was no door, so he was able to go inside. When he was, he only saw a endless hallway, with no windows or whatsoever. There were only a few torches that lit up the hallway.

Gamakichi hopped further in, but not too far. He looked around; there were doors, but it looked like their were shut tight.

"Look, a little intruder." A voice said above Gamakichi. He looked up, and saw a guy with glasses on and his hair in a ponytail.

"Uh-oh..."Gamakichi said, as he wanted to escape. But the person picked him up via his jacket, holding him up.

"You friends can come in now." He said, grinning.

"No worries mate. They are already here!" Gamakichi said, as he heard many footsteps from behind him.

"Kabuto!" Naruto screamed as he, Tsunade and Jiraiya came running towards the two.

"Welcome, Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama." Kabuto grinned, still holding Gamakichi up. "Glad you found the place."

Naruto didn't had time for this. "Where is Sakura-chan!" It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"Never heard of hide and seek, Naruto-kun?" He grinned.

Naruto began to shake with anger. "Don't mess with... me!" He screamed and wanted to attack him, but Jiraiya stopped him.

"Naruto! Calm down, don't let your energy go to waste." Jiraiya said. By hearing this, Naruto calmed somewhat down. Jiraiya looked at Gamakichi. "You may go, thank you."

"It's about time!" Gamakichi said, as he disappeared with a 'poof' leaving behind some dust.

"Well?" Tsunade said. "Where is Sakura?" Kabuto turned his look from Naruto to Tsunade.

"Who knows? I have to say, she can put up quite a fight. Luckily, I had her quiet down. It's so much easier to deal with her when she is completely... defenceless." He grinned. He knew he had _him _right where he wanted to.

"You bastard!" Naruto screamed and lunged at him, not listening to Jiraiya and Tsunade who were telling him to stop.

He held his fist backwards, and when he was close to Kabuto, he lunged his fist at him.

It was a direct hit.

But something felt wrong, it didn't felt real. Just as Naruto thought that, the Kabuto he was fighting with disappeared with a 'poof' and some dust.

"A kage-bunshin?!" Naruto exclaimed. He quickly shook his head and regained his balance. "Damnit!" He said as he ran straight forward, not thinking about Jiraiya or Tsunade.

"Naruto! Come back! Don't be such a... tsk!" Tsunade said as she also began to run, motioning Jiraiya to come with her.

"That kid moves fast!" Jiraiya said, as they almost didn't see Naruto anymore.

"His driven... I think this speed comes from his Kyuubi chakra." Tsunade said.

"I just hope he will be able to contain himself." Jiraiya replied, knowing what this chakra could do.

"That chakra... is strong. We have to say close to him!" And with that, Tsunade and Jiraiya sped up, hoping to catch Naruto, before they catch him.

'Sakura-chan, where are you?' Naruto thought as he just kept running and running. It seemed like there was no end to the hallway.

'What?! A dead end?' Naruto said, as he came to an abrupt stop. Indeed, it was a dead end. But he hadn't seen anything while he was running, this just can't be!

"Sakura-chan!" Narto yelled, and his voice was echoing through the whole hallway. He was hoping she would hear him, somehow. "Sakura-chan! Where are you?! Please answer me!" He yelled again. He waited a few seconds, but no reply. He smashed his fist against the wall, breathing heavily.

He slammed his fist again and heard something strange; there was something behind it, like another room.

'How to break it open?' He asked himself. 'I know!'

He took his position, and crossed his hands, making two fingers of each hand crossing each other. "Kage-bunshin no jutsu!" He yelled, and a shadow clone appeared besides him.

"Let's go!" Naruto told his bunshin and stretched his arm towards his bunshin, while he circled his hands above Naruto's, creating a ball of energy. When that ball completed, the bunshin disappeared.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he lunged his hand towards the wall. The ball of energy connected to the wall, shattering it. Smoke appeared, and the ball of energy disappeared.

When the smoke was cleared, Naruto saw an enormous room on the other side of the wall. "I knew it!" He happily told himself.

He walked through the hole he created, seeing that the only light in this room came from the hole Naruto created.

He felt that the air was thick, and it was hard for him to breathe.

"Naruto..." A woman's voice was heard from the darkness.

Naruto walked faster into the room, "Sakura-chan?!"

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Haha, again a cliff-hanger. Mh, it seems like most of my chapters end with "Sakura-chan!!!!1111"

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I have a favour to ask of you, the readers: If you are faving this story, adding it to your alerts, adding me to your favs or alerts, I want to know WHY! I don't mind at all that you are doing this. But I would love to know why are you adding me, this story etc. I would love to read why you like this story so much so I can continue it.

This is mostly for my new readers, who just recently discovered my story. I just wanna know, so that I can improve myself. Does it hurt to review?

WHYYYYYYY!????

See you next time! And remember: Review!


	16. Bitter Sweet

Hey guys! Thanks all so much for all the wonderful reviews! It makes me feel good to read that you are still enjoying the story

Let us continue!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: "…"

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 16: Bitter Sweet**

'What's that sound? Where am I?' Sakura asked herself after she was taken to a dark place. It was so dark that she couldn't see her own hands anymore.

BANG!

'There's that sound again!' Sakura thought as she looked towards the direction where the sound came from. 'Is someone trying to get in here? Who could it be? Why can't I see anything?!' This was frustrating Sakura so much that tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Calm down, Sakura." She now loudly said to herself, trying to find her courage back. She noticed she couldn't stand up. She couldn't move much either. She used the little strength that was back in her arms to sit up. It took her some time, but she managed to do so. She couldn't move her legs though.

"Kabuto brought me here. Right, that's right." She tried to remember what happened. "He... drugged me. Again." She closed her eyes, or at least, she felt she did, and tried to remember what happened after that.

"Sasuke..." She whispered. That's right; she and Kabuto met up with Sasuke.

BANG!

Her head shot up. "Who's there?!" She yelled. But the only thing she heard was her voice that echoed through the room.

"Kabuto! Sasuke! Who's there?!" Suddenly, there was another loud 'bang', even harder then the ones before, She heard something break, like a wall. He looked towards the direction to where the noise came from, and saw light.

'Light?' Sakura thought, as she saw that the wall was broken open. There was some dust, but she could clearly see a figure standing at the opening.

"I knew it!" The figure explained, and Sakura recognised the voice immediately.

Sakura's eyes went wide, and once again, tears started to well up. "Naruto..." She saw the figure taking steps into the room.

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, and began to walk faster towards her.

'He shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous, there are traps! He can't come...' But how much Sakura thought that, Naruto came closer and closer to her.

"Naruto, don't come here!" She yelled at him, but it seemed like he didn't hear her. He continued to walk towards her, faster and faster. He was almost running.

She was so happy to see him, she really was. But she knew that Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke were lurking somewhere, knowing where the weak spot is.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!" He kept repeating. There was a big smile on his face, so big, that it even made Sakura smile, even though she knew in what kind of situation they were.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, with a gentle smile on her face. She couldn't help it, she was so happy to see him. But was it really him?

Naruto suddenly bent down and hugged Sakura tightly. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan!" He held her close to him. "Sakura-chan, I finally found you! I found you!"

Sakura finally gave in; it felt so good to be in his arms again. She wanted to be in his arms, forever.

"Naruto... you came for me..." She whispered, as she also hugged him and laid her head on his shoulder, tears falling down. This was real; this wasn't a illusion or a dream.

"Sakura-chan... Of course. I'll come for you even if you were at the other side of the world." He also whispered.

"Naruto... is it really you?" Sakura asked. After she asked that, he gently pushed her off him. She looked in his blue eyes which looked gently into hers. He pushed some bangs away from her face and softly caressed her cheek.

"Sakura-chan, I won't let a fake touch you, not now, not ever." He brought his face closer to hers, as he saw that she was closing her eyes slowly.

He longed for this moment for so long. His lips were almost touching hers-

"Naruto, look out!" A voice yelled from behind them.

Naruto quickly reacted as he grabbed Sakura and jumped backwards. When he landed, he saw a long sword on the place where he and Sakura just were.

"W-what the-?" Naruto said as he followed the long sword, which was pulling itself back.

The sword went back inside the owners mouth, and his neck also went back to it's normal length. Naruto followed it all, and knew who it was.

"Orochimaru..." He growled.

Naruto saw Orohcimaru's evil grin, while he moved his tongue in a gross way; like a snake.

"Too bad about that attack, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said, as he stood next to Orochimaru, pushing his glasses up.

"Yes," Orochimaru said, while retrieving his tongue. "If it hadn't been for Tsunade-hime's call, we would have had two dead Shinobi."

"Like we would let that happen, Orochimaru!" Tsunade said as she and Jiraiya stood besides them.

"Thanks, Tsunade-obaasan." Naruto said, but Tsunade only gave him a angry glare.

"Don't ever, ever run away on your own like that, understand?!" She angrily said back.

Normally, Naruto would defend himself, saying something back, but now, he only had a gentle smile on his face.

"Yeah..." He only said, and turned his attention on Sakura, who he still held in bridal style. "Sakura-chan, can you stand?" He softly whispered to her.

Sakura shook her head 'no', and only held him tighter. "They drugged me, Naruto. I don't have any strength in my legs."

"Don't worry Sakura." Tsunade said. "I have some medicine with me to cure it."

Sakura looked at Tsunade and nodded. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"Are you people still here?" A cold voice said from behind Orochimaru and Kabuto.

They all knew who it was.

"So, the Uchiha-kid also decided to join the party?" Jiraiya said.

"I only want to fight Naruto. I don't have any interest in either of you." Sasuke said, as he took a few steps forward.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said, as he slowly put Sakura down. But it seemed like Sakura didn't wanted to let him go.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, as he looked down.

"Naruto... you can't... I mean... they... It's dangerous!" Sakura said. Somehow, she couldn't get more out of it.

Naruto only smiled one of his gentle smiles at her. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll come back to you before you know it. I just have to beat-"

"_...and able to kill Sasuke-kun."_

Naruto quickly shook his head. "I just have to beat Sasuke!"

He let go of Sakura and walked towards the middle of the room.

Sakura shook her head. She looked up, giving Tsunade one of her pleading faces. "Tsunade-sama, please! Naruto... Naruto is in danger! They want to get his-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sakura..." A voice said behind her. Suddenly, she felt something cold and sharp held against her throat. She could see Tsunade and Jiraiya standing in their fighting position.

"Kabuto... let her go." Tsunade said to Kabuto, who was still behind Sakura, with a kunai places on her throat.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but I can't do that. See, she is still our hostage." Kabuto said.

"You should have thought of that _before_ we arrived here." Jiraiya said as he lunged his arm forward towards Kabuto's head. He held a ball full of energy.

"Rasengan!" Jiraiya said as he almost connected to Kabuto's head. Kabuto jumped away, without Sakura. Tsunade quickly grabbed Sakura and took her to the wall next to the hole made by Naruto.

"Thanks, Jiraiya." Tsunade said as the ball of energy disappeared from his hand.

"No worries. No injuries on Sakura?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade shook her head as she examined Sakura closely. She suddenly reached in her pants and pulled a little bottle, with medicine in it, out.

"Here, Sakura. This should help getting the strength back in your body. It would take a while to take effect, though."

Sakura nodded. "Alright, thank you, Tsunade-sama." She grabbed the medicine from Tsunade and swallowed it.

"Sasuke... do you still wish to fight?" Naruto asked, as the two stood on the opposite of each other.

"Tsk..." Sasuke said, as he grabbed his long sword from his holder. "Of course I do. To defeat both you... and Itachi."

'That's right...' Naruto thought. 'His older brother, Itachi Uchiha. The one who killed the whole Uchiha clan. That... is his main reason that he wants to become stronger... That he went to Orochimaru.'

"Then why don't you come back to Konoha?! We can train strong together! We can-"

"Are you joking around?!" Sasuke yelled and started to charge at Naruto with full speed. He held his sword back as he approached Naruto.

Naruto reacted just in time and dodged Sasuke's attack with his sword by jumping away. Naruto knew that if Sasuke's sword would hit, he would be done for.

"Haha..." Naruto grinned when he landed a little bit farther away. "Are you really that strong? Looks like you need the help of a sword with this fight!" Naruto was testing him.

'Be careful, Naruto. Don't mock him too much...' Jiraiya thought as he, Tsunade and Sakura were watching the fight closely. While on the other side of the room, Kabuto and Orochimaru were standing there, also looking at the fight.

"We also have to watch the actions of four-eyes and Orochimaru." Tsunade whispered at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, we have to keep tabs on them as well, before they do something as the four-eyes did just a moment ago." He whispered back.

Tsunade looked behind her, seeing Sakura still sitting against the wall. She was also watching the fight closely. "Naruto... please... be careful."

"You idiot." Sasuke said. "I can easily defeat you without this sword." As he said that, he held his sword up.

Naruto grinned even more. "Let's show it then, Sasuke."

Sasuke now also grinned, as he closed his eyes. "Heh..." He tossed his sword aside. The sword roughly hit the ground, giving a rasping sound that gives you chills.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said, seeing what Sasuke did.

Orochimaru grinned. "Interesting, very interesting."

"When will we..." Kabuto began, but was interrupted by Orochimaru.

"When Naruto-kun is tired... and maybe... we'll need Sakura-kun to do the trick..." He looked towards Sakura, who was trying to move her legs.

"But what about Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama?" Kabuto asked.

"Don't worry, Kabuto. When the time comes, just do what I say."

Kabuto nodded. "Understood, Orochimaru-sama."

"Let's go, Naruto!" Sasuke said, as he began to charge towards Naruto.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he also began to charge towards Sasuke, knowing it wouldn't be a easy battle.

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Well! That was chapter 16! Yes, a bit of a filler one, but next... ooooohhhh! We are going loose! XD

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Please review!


	17. Show Me

Sorry guys, that I took so long to upload a new chapter! I mean, I was kinda empty... Or in other words: A writers block...

Anyway, let us continue!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: "…"

Kyuubi: _blablabla_

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 17: Show Me**

Sakura closed her eyes as Naruto as Sasuke collided. She felt a strong wind hitting her skin, but she still didn't open her eyes. Even when both Sasuke and Naruto grunted about each others power.

"Sakura, open your eyes." She heard a voice above her, which she recognised as Tsunade's.

Sakura shook her head and continued to keep her eyes closed.

"You have to see this fight." Tsunade said with an stern voice.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and turned her head fiercely towards Tsunade. "H-how can you say that, Tsunade-sama?! They... they might die!" She tried to stand up, but her legs were still too weak from the drug.

Tsunade grabbed something from her pockets and threw it into Sakura's lap. It was a tiny bottle with some kind of pill inside.

Sakura looked at Tsunade again; "What's this?"

Tsunade did not took her eyes from the fight. "Take the pill that's inside of the bottle. You'll regain your strength in a few minutes."

Sakura smiled; "Thank you... master..." She said as she took the tiny pill and swallowed it.

"I hate to admit this... but it seems like Sasuke is stronger." Jiraiya said, as he, also, followed the fight.

"Yes..." Tsunade replied.

'Naruto...' Sakura thought as she forced herself to follow the battle. She saw the Sasuke closed Naruto in and connected his fist hard against Naruto's cheek.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she stood up. She looked down; it seems like the pill was working.

Naruto landed a few meters away from Sasuke, dust forming in a circle around him. Some blood came out his mouth, and he felt that his cheek was already swollen.

'Damn...' He cursed in his thought. 'Sasuke... he's strong... Maybe even stronger than-'

"What's wrong, idiot? No strength left to fight? Well, that wasn't much of a fight, was it?" Sasuke's cold voice cut Naruto's thoughts.

"Shut up!" Naruto screamed as he quickly stood up and began to run towards him. Sasuke also took is fighting position as he watched Naruto coming closer.

"Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto screamed as four clones appeared beside Naruto. Two of them began to attack Sasuke.

"Hn, I already know this trick of you, Naruto..." Sasuke said as the two clones jumped up, ready to attack Sasuke.

As soon as he clones came down, Sasuke jumped up. He gave one a kick and the clone disappeared. As soon as Sasuke landed, the second clone did as well. Sasuke reacted fast and kicked the clone into his stomach, which made it disappear as well.

The clones made some dust, but Sasuke knew what came next. He turned around and saw Naruto's silhouette coming towards him. As soon as the dust disappeared, the clone next to Naruto disappeared as well, leaving Naruto alone with a glowing, swirling ball in his hand.

Sasuke smirked; this was too obvious.

Naruto held his hand with the ball back and sprinted towards Sasuke, who just stood still.

"Rasengan!" Naruto screamed as he lunged his arms towards Sasuke. Sasuke still didn't move.

'Why isn't he moving away?!' Sakura thought as she watched the fight.

There was a loud bang from above as pieces of stone fell down. When the dust cleared, everyone saw that there was a hole in the roof.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said as Orochimaru smirked.

"Yes, I already trained him well..."

"T-that can't be...!" Jiraiya said as he saw everything happening.

Naruto and Sasuke didn't move; Sasuke had dodged the attack by simple grabbing Naruto's arm with the Rasengan and pushed it away, in this case, towards the roof.

Sasuke still held Naruto's arm, tighter and tighter. Naruto looked at Sasuke with his eyes wide.

"Why..." Naruto said, shock heard in his voice.

"Because I'm stronger than you..." Sasuke said as he lunged his fist towards Naruto's stomach, which made Naruto spit out blood. Sasuke still held him as Naruto's legs gave in. He was breathing hard.

"You are so _weak_." Sasuke said as he kicked him away, making him roll over a few times before he lay still.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she ran towards him. But she was stopped by Tsunade.

"Sakura! This is not your fight. Naruto will make it..."

"B-but this is all my fault!" Sakura said, on the verge of tears as she saw Naruto lying there. "If _I_ hadn't been so weak and fought back, this never would have happened!"

"Sakura! This fight was inevitable, even if you weren't captured." Tsunade said, getting angry that Sakura blamed herself for this.

"S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto's voice said softly. Sakura quickly looked towards Naruto, who was slowly getting up. When he stood up, she saw him smirking, while wiping the blood from his mouth.

He continued, "I'll... never give up! Even when I'm like this, even if Sasuke tells me I'm weak, I'll never give up!" He gave her one of his big smiles that told her that everything is going to be alright, even if his smile also held pain.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered. She suddenly heard chuckles coming from Sasuke. Chuckles that would give you chills.

"You would do anything for the ones you love, right Naruto? That's what makes you weak.. Love makes you weak." Sasuke said, as he also looked at Sakura. "Having people like _her_ close to you will only make you weak."

This made Sakura angry. "You are wrong, Sasuke. Love gives you strength, darkness makes you weak. You can learn from love, you can fail because of the darkness." Sakura held her hand close to her heart. "I love everyone and that gives me strength. I... still love you.. Sasuke."

"Shut up!" Sasuke said as he ran towards her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed as he saw that she didn't move.

Everything happened in a flash; Sasuke was stopped because of Tsunade and Jiraiya held him back with kunai's while Kabuto and Orochimaru were around Tsunade and Jiraiya, also holding them back with kunai's.

"You leave Sakura alone, Sasuke. This is your fight with Naruto _only_." Tsunade said.

"You'll only disgrace yourself if you attack others outside the battlefield." Jiraiya added.

"Then, I'll suggest we go back to where we've been?" Kabuto said, holding his kunai close to Jiraiya.

Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, "I agree. It would be a disgrace for us if we were meddling with this fight, won't it?" He grinned.

Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded. He jumped up and landed on his old spot in the battlefield. Kabuto and Orochimaru also retreated back to their places.

"We could have ended it, Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said softly.

"Don't worry Kabuto, maybe that time will come. But first, I want to see how Sasuke will do."

"But, the way it looks now, Sasuke-kun is on the winning hand."

"Yes, but did you forget, Kabuto? I want Naruto-kun's Kyuubi... and if it the rest of the fight goes like it goes now, we will get to see the Kyuubi soon enough..." Orochimaru smirked again.

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said, as the reflection of his glasses hid his eyes. 'Sasuke will have to do better then this.'

Naruto was still in shock about what just happened. But he saw that Sakura and the others were ok. He looked at Sasuke and noticed that his vision went blurry.

'Shit, I can't have this now...' Naruto thought as he rubbed his eyes. He still saw a bit blurry.

"What wrong, idiot? Feeling a little weak? I had more of a challenge in our last fight." Sasuke said, but strangely, he was not attacking.

'What isn't he attacking?' Jiraiya thought. 'He has the advantage when Naruto is like this...'

"Our... last challenge?" Naruto replied. 'But that is when I used Kyuubi's power to fight.' He looked at Sakura, who was looking with a worried face towards the battle. Naruto shook his head. 'I can never use Kyuubi's power again... I hurt Sakura again... I won't be able to control it.'

_Why not just do it, __**partner...**?_ Kyuubi's voice echoed in his head.

'Stay out of this...'

_We could... destroy him._

"Shut up!" Naruto said as his blue chakra swirled around him.

Sasuke smirked, "Now we're talking." He said as he prepared himself for the second round.

_Just a little of my chakra, __**partner**__... You could easily win this battle. Let me __**help you...**_

"I will do this on my own! I don't want to hurt the ones around me because of _you_!" Naruto screamed again as he charged at Sasuke.

He was faster, he was stronger. This time, Sasuke was slower. Before Sasuke cold react, was Naruto already behind him. He kicked Sasuke in the back which send him flying. Sasuke cursed under his breath and regained his balance in mid-air.

'This power is not Kyuubi's...' Sasuke thought. 'How did he...' But before Sasuke could finish his thoughts, Naruto came dashing at him again. Sasuke was too late to dodge Naruto's punch, so he lifted his arms before his face to protect himself.

The impact was hard; both of them were shoved aside because of the blow. This didn't stopped Naruto.

He made a hand sign; "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Again, four clones where created.

'Another Rasengan attack?' Sasuke thought. 'How cliché...'

But he was wrong. Naruto created more clones as they all attacked Sasuke. There were too many too handle, even for Sasuke. While he was fighting with clones before him, he did not noticed the ones behind him.

"Let's go!" Naruto told his clones as one of them kicked Sasuke up high. Sasuke had no time to regain himself as Naruto began his attack.

"U!"

"Zu!"

"Ma!"

"Ki!"

The final blow; "Naruto Rendan!" With a huge power, he kicked Sasuke down. When Sasuke connected with the ground, he made a huge crater.

Naruto jumped back, breathing heavily.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said, somewhat confused about the sudden power from Naruto. He was also shocked that Naruto turned the tables around so quickly.

"Do not worry, Kabuto. Naruto-kun did not use the Kyuubi's chakra. Which means he's now almost out of his own chakra. And Sasuke-kun..." He turned his head towards the huge crater Naruto had made with his attack.

Sasuke slowly stood up. He had some scratches and blood was running down his mouth. He was also breathing hard, but it seemed he was ok. He was more shocked about the power Naruto just shown.

He looked at Naruto, who was breathing heavily. He smirked; "Looks like this power was only once. He used up all his chakra."

'Shit...' Naruto thought, 'I'm almost out of chakra. I don't think I can do the same attack again.'

"Naruto..." Sasuke's cold voice echoed trough the room. You could feel the tension rise.

'What's this... huge chakra...?' Sakura thought. 'It's the same as... with the chuunin exam. His bruise!'

Sasuke was now covered with black tattoos. Purple chakra was surrounding him, as if he held back this whole time.

He grinned, "Play time is over."

&&&&&&&&&&

Phew, so, they began, but how will this end? Even I'm curious. I hope you liked this chapter!

Oh, maybe this is important: When Sakura said she still loves Sasuke, she ment as a friend, just like she loves everyone else in Konoha. Kthnxbai.

See you next time!

Please review!


	18. Death

Hey everyone! Thanks again for waiting for this chapter! Let's see if I can please you again with this chapter, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

Kyuubi: _blablabla_

**

* * *

****Chapter 18: Death**

Sakura's strength was now completely back as she clenched her fists. "This is not good..." She whispered to herself. She still remembered the time he used the same power in the 'Forest of Death'. She also knew that Naruto had seen it before as well.

"Have faith in Naruto, Sakura." She heard Jiraiya saying, like he read her mind. She saw Jiraiya looking at her with gentle eyes. "He isn't called the most unexpected ninja for nothing."

Sakura smiled a bit, "I know, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura continued to look at Sasuke, while his purple chakra was now surging around him. She then looked at Naruto, who was still breathing hard, slowly getting his strength back.

She had the violent urge to run over to him and heal him, getting his complete strength back, removing his cuts and bruises. But she knew that, if she did, she would either stopped by Tsunade and Jiraiya or be killed by Orochimaru and Kabuto.

She began to shake, both of anger and because she was scared.

"Sakura, contain yourself." She heard Tsunade saying. "I know what you want to do, but please, don't make dumb moves that could kill you."

Sakura was fed up with all of this, the waiting, the watching. "How can you say that, master?!" Sakura almost screamed, calling Tsunade by her new name of respect. "I can't stand it anymore! Naruto... Sasuke... This is not worth it!"

"You are right, Sakura, it is not worth it." Jiraiya said, putting himself in the conversation. "But to these two boys, it's very important. It's a never ending fight."

"But what if they kill each other!?" Sakura continued to ask more, not getting any of this.

"They won't," Jiraiya replied. "they have their own ninja way. Besides, if Sasuke really wanted to kill Naruto, wouldn't he have done so when they fought when Sasuke left the village to join Orochimaru?"

Sakura stayed quiet, thinking about what Jiraiya just said. She knew he was right, but Sakura believed that they could hurt each other so bad, that thát would resolve in death.

"Naruto..." She heard Sasuke say, and looked his way. "You leave me no choice but to use this." Sasuke grinned at the power he gained from his seal.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto said, as he saw that Sasuke's body was covered with the seal.

He continued, "Sasuke-kun has not yet fully learned how to control the seal. You know what could happen if he uses it too much, right?"

Orochimaru let out a laugh, "We'll just see how strong Sasuke-kun is, won't we Kabuto?"

Kabuto only nodded as he turned his attention back to the fight; Sasuke was ready to attack again.

'Shit,' Naruto cursed in his thoughts. He regained his strength a little, but it was not enough to stop the cursed seal.

But he refused to give up, he had to do this. It was also his wish to fight Sasuke again, but he also wanted to bring him back home, together with Sakura.

He gave a quick side glance towards Sakura, who was looking at him with a worried face. Though he doesn't wanted he to look sad or worried, this gave him strength.

'Sakura... I won't lose. Just watch me, as long as you are by my side, I won't ever lose!' Naruto thought as he looked back towards Sasuke, who shifted his foot back, really to attack him.

Naruto also regained his position, as he waited until Sasuke attacked.

'I don't need Kyuubi,' Naruto told himself. 'even if Sasuke is using his cursed seal, I will be stronger!'

"Ha!" Naruto screamed as his blue chakra swirled around him.

"Oh? You still had some chakra left, huh?" Sasuke said. He was somehwat surprised, but paid no further attention to it.

Naruto grinned, "I'll never lose to you, Sasuke!" With that, Naruto made the first move and dashed towards Sasuke.

Sasuke grinned as well, "We'll see about that!" Sasuke said as he dashed off as well, towards Naruto.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled before he collided with Sasuke. Sasuke held his fist back and hit Naruto in the stomach.

It was a clone.

"What?!" Sasuke said, actually surprised that he missed. The clone disappeared, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Naruto attacked again, missing just an inch from Sasuke's face, who quickly turned his face away to avoid Naruto's attack. But that didn't stop Naruto to quickly turn his body to kick Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke didn't saw that coming.

Naruto foot connected with Sasuke's face, as Sasuke flew away because of the force the kick was taking with him, and connected to a nearby wall, just a few meters away from Kabuto and Orochimaru.

"Looks like the seal has not yet grown enough, wouldn't you say Kabuto?" Orochimaru said, grinning. He seemed to enjoy the show.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto replied, seeming to worry a little bit.

Sasuke stood up, slowly with some grunts. He wiped the blood away that was dripping down his mouth, surprised that the hit came so hard.

But Naruto wasn't done yet; now that Sasuke was occupied with his current situation, he prepared to do his ultimate attack for the second time.

It seemed like Sasuke didn't noticed him. Naruto took this chance to dash over to him and to attack.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he held his arm with the Rasengan forward, towards Sasuke's stomach.

It was a direct hit. Sasuke was drilled into the wall creating a bigger hole then before.

But there was something strange going on; even though nobody could see what exactly happened because of the strong light and the dust the Rasengan was creating, they all saw something very disturbing.

Sasuke was smirking.

Naruto screamed and was thrown away with full force. Blood was seen in the air, coming from Naruto.

"Chidori..." Sasuke whispered as Naruto landed hard on the ground; he had a hole in his stomach, just like the first time they fought like this.

Tsunade, Jiraiya and Sakura gasped, as they saw Naruto lying on the ground, not moving, his eyes half open.

Kabuto and Orochimaru only grinned, first looking at Naruto, and then at Sasuke; it seemed like Sasuke was also pretty bad injured. His cursed seal was disappearing, he was breathing hard, trying hard to stay conscious. He sat on the ground, his hand on his chest, trying to stop the heavy bleeding.

'It seemed like... he got me pretty good.' Sasuke thought as he looked at Naruto, who was still motionless lying on the ground.

"It's over." Orochimaru stated simply as he looked from Naruto to Sasuke. He nodded at Kabuto, who understood completely and walked towards Sasuke, ready to heal him.

"I-it can't be..." Jiraiya said, not believing what he was seeing.

"Dammit!" Tsunade said as he punched the closest wall, creating a hole in it.

"No..." Sakura whispered as tears started to form in her eyes. "Naruto... no..." The tears were now falling down.

"Master!" Sakura screamed as she looked at Tsunade, who held her eyes closed, her fist still on the wall.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she slowly looked at Jiraiya, who had the same expression on his face.

"Naruto!" She screamed as she ran towards him.

"Sakura! Come back!" Tsunade ordered, but Sakura didn't listen; she just kept running.

When she arrived at the body, she kneeled down and green light emitted from her hands, placing them on his chest.

"Naruto... please, please, please." Sakura whispered over and over again.

"Foolish girl," She heard Orochimaru say, but did not look at him, she continued to try and put more of her power in her healing.

Orochimaru continued; "You are not strong enough to heal him and even if you were..." He paused and grinned, "it would be too late. He is already dead."

Sakura's eyes went wide as the green light from her hands disappeared.

She shook her head wildly. "No, he's not! I refuse to believe he is! He-he promised me! We would go home together, with Sasuke, with everyone!" New tears feel down on Naruto's vest as Sakura looked at his face.

He looked so pale, she didn't dare to touch him. "Naruto.." She whispered while she quietly lied her head on his chest. "I'm so sorry... please, please come back..."

"Where am I?" Naruto asked as he walked in a white room. "Wasn't I fighting Sasuke?" He looked around; there was no one.

_You should have used my power__**, partner**__, then you wouldn't have __**died**_

"Died...?" Naruto said as his eyes went wide, looking down. "I'm dead?"

_Yes, the **Uchiha kid** killed you. Such a pity, **partner... **Y__ou could have won with my power..._

"I told you, I don't need your power! I'm going back! I'm going back to Sakura-chan! I'm going home together with her and Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he looked above him, not knowing where Kyuubi was.

_I can revive you with my power, __**partner**__... Just surrender to my power, like you always do, like when you anger gets the best of you... _

"Wait, you need me to survive, right? So, if I'm dead, then you are dead as well." Naruto didn't heard any reply, but he knew he was right.

He continued, "So, you can't survive if I'm dead." Naruto smirked, he had him there.

_You will never see your girlfriend again..._ Kyuubi continued.

Naruto didn't stopped grinning, "I'll get out her myself, and I don't need your help." He started walking again, not knowing where he was going, but his spirit was strong, and he didn't give up.

He walked for a while, and then he saw a figure standing there, with it's back towards Naruto.

When he came closer, he saw that the person had long, red hair and wore a baby blue dress. He figured it was a woman. It seemed like she didn't noticed him.

"Uh, excuse me?" Naruto asked, but the woman didn't respond. He continued, "Uhm, can I ask you something?"

The woman finally started to turned around, and her hair moved along with her turn, flowing gracefully around her. She had a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Naruto.

Naruto blushed; she was very pretty in his eyes. But who was she?

"I've waited for you, Naruto." The woman spoke, her voice soft.

"Are you an angel?" Naruto asked while looking at her.

The woman smiled; "Something like that." She held her hand up and walked towards him. When she was standing before him, she placed her hand on his head, softly stroking his hair.

"Where am I? How do you know my name?" Naruto said, as he didn't look away when she touched him.

The woman smiled again, "This is the in-between world. It's not heaven, it's not hell. It's nothing actually." She continued to stroke his hair.

"So, I'm not dead?" Naruto asked hopefully.

The woman shook her head. "Somebody wants you to return to her very badly; she can't let you go just yet. And it's just not your time yet."

"Somebody...?" Naruto thought for a while. "Sakura-chan!"

The woman laughed softly; "That's right, Sakura-chan."

Naruto as happy, but there was still something bugging him; "How do you know my name?"

"I've been watching you for a very long time. I know how you live, know what you have been trough and the many friends you made." The woman replied, her hand now at her side.

"What?" Naruto asked, confused. Who was this woman?

She laughed softly, with hr eyes closed. "It's not important, Naruto... Just remember that you always have a guardian angel watching over you."

"My guardian angel?"

"It's time to claim my price.." Orochimaru said as he walked towards Naruto, while Kabuto was still healing Sasuke.

Sasuke saw everything, "What is he going to do?"

"He is going to steal the Kyuubi from Naruto's body." Kabuto simply said as he concentrated his healing on Sasuke's wounds.

"What?!" Sasuke said as he immediately received stabbing pain in his chest. "This was my fight, how dare he interfere!" Sasuke wanted to stand up, but he was still weak.

"Calm down, Sasuke-kun, your wounds are not yet healed. Please, let me do my job." Kabuto said as his eyes were hidden by the reflection of his glasses.

Sakura was still crying on Naruto's chest as Orochimaru came closer. She looked up as she heard his footsteps come closer. She looked scared at him, clutching his vest tight.

"Stay away!" Sakura yelled, but you could hear she was scared.

"Not yet, Naruto has something that I want..." Orochimaru said coming closer and closer.

He smirked, "And I'm going to claim it as my own right now!"

* * *

Phew, my neck hurts... So, how was it? I hope it's not too boring :D Looks like the fight is coming to an end, but is that the same regarding the story? We'll see...

Thanks for reading and please review!


	19. Swords

Hey everyone! Thanks for waiting for this chapter! I'm glad you all still enjoy this story.

Let us continue!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

&

* * *

**Chapter 19: Swords**

'Orochimaru is closing in.' Sakura said as the tears fell down on Naruto's jacket. She held Naruto closer and tighter with each step Orochimaru made. 'And I'm not strong enough to fight him!'

Naruto did not move an inch.

"Now, my dear, move aside so that I can claim the Kyuubi." Orochimaru said, as he stopped walking when he was right above them.

'I can't give up...' Sakura said, her tears overflowing. "I will not move aside!"

"Oh?" Orochimaru said with a grin on his face. "Well, then, I'll just have to force you, won't I?" While he said that, his left hand began to turn into a snake. The 'snake' opened his mouth to show the sharp point of a-

"Sword?" Sakura whispered.

Orochimaru grinned even more, "Don't worry, you'll be able to join Naruto-kun soon enough." He made a side glance towards Sasuke, who was still being healed by Kabuto. Sasuke's face was not approving.

This made Orochimaru smirk. "Believe me, Sasuke-kun, this is something I've always wanted, and I will thank you gratefully for it."

Sakura couldn't move at all, she just held Naruto closer in her arms, suddenly a soft look on her face. She turned her face to look at Naruto.

"If this is what it takes to be with you, I will take it, Naruto..." She whispered, but it was still audible for Orochimaru.

"Well said, child!" Orochimaru said as the mouth of the snake went wider. The sword become longer and sharper.

It only needed one last thrust to kill Sakura.

"Orochimaru!" Sasuke yelled as Orochimaru was about to fire the sword.

Sakura closed her eyes, not wanting to see the sword penetrate her body. She heard Sasuke's yell, but nothing happened.

"Ugh!"

Sakura's head shot up quickly, her eyes opening at the same time;

She wasn't killed, she was still alive. She saw that Orochimaru was held back by Jiraiya; Jiraiya had put his arms around Orochimaru's so that the sword would fire off towards the ceiling.

Tsunade was right in front of Sakura, also protecting her.

"Jiraiya-sama... Master!" Sakura exclaimed when she figured out the situation.

"You didn't forget about us, now did you, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya said as he had Orochimaru in his hold.

Orochimaru didn't struggle, he only smiled. "Of course I didn't forget... How could I? We were team-mates once..." And as he said his last sentence, he melted, escaping from Jiraiya's hold.

"Damn," Jiraiya cursed. "it was a Kage Bunshin..." He looked around him, but the only people he saw were Sasuke and Kabuto. Kabuto didn't payed any attention to the fight, but Sasuke looked furious.

"Where is he...?" Jiraiya muttered, and while he searched, Tsunade was talking to Sakura.

"Sakura, are you ok?" She asked, anger heard in her voice.

"Y-yes, master... thank you.." Sakura whispered, really grateful to her master, but also realised how much danger she has caused.

Tsunade sighed of relief. "Thank God... I think you realise how much danger you've put yourself in, right?"

Sakura nodded, only looking at Naruto. She softly caressed his cheek; he felt so cold.

"Master... Naruto..." Was the only thing she could say. Fresh tears started to build up in her eyes, but she made no effort to stop them.

Tsunade nodded, "Let me see, Sakura..." Tsunade said as she sat in her knees on the other side.

Sakura removed her hand as Tsunade began to exclaim him on places that only a medical ninja would know about.

Sakura looked at Tsunade, to see if she could read her expression; she couldn't.

Sakura heard Tsunade curse under her breath, and she knew that _that_ couldn't be a good sign.

"Master? You can save Naruto, right? I-it's not too late, right? He's going to be alright... right?"

Tsunade looked at Sakura, seeing the tears fall from her scared and delicate face, wanting to lie to her... wanting to tell her that everything is going to be alright.

But it wasn't.

"Sakura..." Tsunade began, tears starting to form in her own eyes. She couldn't continue, she didn't knew how she could continue.

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Sakura's eyes went wide, she gasped for air she couldn't seem to get.

"No..." She choked out. She looked down.

"Naruto... no... wake up.. you have to wake up!" Sakura almost yelled hysterically. She began to shook him softly.

* * *

"What's all that noise? Is somebody having a party?" Naruto asked, as he looked up, towards the white 'sky'.

The woman with red hair shook her head; "No, Naruto, those are the voices of your friends."

Naruto looked at her with a confused look, "My friends? They don't sound like that! This sound is just... like pounds... like someone is pounding their foot on the ground.

"That is because the voices of your friends are very far away, Naruto."

"Well, then, how do I reach them?"

The woman smiled, "Think about those who are very precious to you, Naruto. The feelings you share for them, they will guide you to your friends."

"The feelings I have for my friends?" Naruto repeated. Naruto closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. He had a pained look on his face, trying to remember them all.

"Well," He said out loud as he began, "Tsunade-obaachan thinks she can do everything just because she is the new Hokage. But somehow she always looks out for us." Naruto smiled as he remembered.

"Ero-sennin is a pervert, always looking at girls in the onsen. He always tells me that he will teach me a new jutsu, but instead, he peeps at those half naked girls. But... I guess I can be grateful to him that he taught me the 'Rasengan'."

He sighed, thinking about who he can name more, "Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei have also taught me many things and I'm very happy that I know them and have fun with them. The same goes for all the people in Konoha. Even though they all thought of me of a monster," Naruto paused, shaking his head. "we all became friends. We even do missions with each other sometimes!"

"You have made some great friends, Naruto." The woman said softly, smiling at him. Naruto opened his eyes and beamed with joy.

"Right, right?! We have so much fun with each other and we help each other out when someone is in trouble."

_"Naru...to...!"_

"Ah! He voice is becoming clearer now!" Naruto said as he looked up.

The woman nodded, "Yes, now think about who are most precious to you, other then the one you already named. Who are the ones you would do anything for?" The woman smiled, like she already knew the answer.

"The ones most precious to me..." Naruto had to think, but not too long. "Are you kidding me? The ones most precious to me are Sasuke and Sakura-chan!"

"And why is that?"

Naruto looked at her confused, like he thought she would knew why. But he answered her anyway; "Well, Sasuke is the first friend I've ever had. Although we couldn't get along with each other at all in the beginning, we became each other's best friend. Until Sasuke left to train with Orochimaru." Naruto's fists clenched when he spoke out the name 'Orochimaru'. He looked at the woman with an intense look.

"And now I'm going to take him back!"

The woman smiled, "I know you are going to succeed, Naruto."

Naruto smiled as well and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, but it seems like I lost this round."

"Then there is always round 2, is there not?"

Naruto grinned; "Jup! I've gotta get back! I _ have_ to go back to be with... Sakura-chan..." His smile suddenly disappeared as he said her name.

"I can see you care a lot about Sakura."

"Oh, yes!" Naruto piped up. "I wish you could meet her, ma'am, Sakura-chan... I love Sakura-chan so much! Sakura-chan can throw a punch, but she's really beautiful and nice ad kind and-"

_"Naruto! Come back, please!"_

_"Naruto, don't know if you can hear me, but don't you dare to give up, little punk. You are supposed to be the next Hokage!"_

_"Naruto, I promise I'll give you my newest Icha Icha Paradise book when you come back. Oh, and some new jutsu!."_

_"Naruto... This fight was not suppose to happen this way."_

Naruto looked up, a smile on his face; "That's Sakura-chan! And Tsunade-obaachan, Ero-sennin and... Sasuke..?"

After he said those names, a blue light emerged out of nowhere, blinding Naruto by the sudden change of colour.

"W-what the...?"

"You have found your way back, Naruto. You have found the ones that are most precious to you. Now go back, go through the blue light and you will be reunited with your loved ones." The woman said, walking towards Naruto to give him a pet on his head.

"Thank you so much, ma'am! I will never forget you!" Naruto said as he walked towards the blue light.

"Remember that you always have a guardian angel watching over you, my precious Naruto..." She whispered, too low to be heard by Naruto.

Naruto suddenly stopped right in front of the blue gate. He turned his head around so that he could look at the red haired woman.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you... What's your name?"

The woman smiled and closer her eyes; "My name is Kushina..."

Naruto's eyes softened, "Kushina is a really pretty name, ma'am." After he said that, he walked trough the blue light, disappearing.

* * *

"Everyone, watch out!" Jiraiya yelled as he looked up.

Orochimaru was back and he was not changing his plan to take the Kyuubi from Naruto. His left arm transformed into a snake again, who had a sword in his mouth. He aimed at Tsunade, Sakura and Naruto.

The snake spew the sword out with full force, not swinging out of course.

"No!" Jiraiya said as he wanted to make his move, but Kabuto suddenly held him back; it seemed that he was done healing Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama, but I cannot let you through!" Kabuto said as he attacked Jiraiya with one of his kunai's, forcing Jiraiya to jump back, away from Tsunade and Sakura.

And that was exactly Kabuto's plan. Now no one could intercept Orochimaru's attack.

'Shit,' Tsunade thought. 'I don't have enough time to move Sakura _and_ Naruto. I will have to jump in front of them.' Tsunade already wanted to make her move when suddenly something pink pushed her away.

"Sakura!" Tsunade said as the sword went through Sakura's leg. Sakura screamed with pain, as the sword came out on the other side of her leg.

"Sakura!" Tsunade now yelled as she quickly was at Sakura's side. Sakura wanted to touch her sword, but Tsunade stopped her.

"Let me do this..." Tsunade said as her hand began to glow green. She touched the sword, letting the green glow surround the sword.

Sakura's face softened as the pain became less worse.

"How could you do this, Sakura!? Do you know how dangerous that was? You could have been killed!" Tsunade said angrily, only concentrating on Sakura's wound and sword. She slowly began to pull the sword out. Sakura hissed sometimes, but the pain was less because of Tsunade's medical jutsu.

"You could have been killed, Master." Sakura began to protest, but with much less anger in her voice. "You wanted to take the sword with your whole body. I only put my leg in danger, you wanted it to do with your life."

Tsunade sighed, not really wanting to argue, "You are right... But never do that again!"

Sakura smiled, "I promise." The sword was now completely removed from Sakura's leg, and only he wound had to be healed.

But it looked like there was no time.

"It doesn't matter! I have even more swords!" Orochimaru said as he jumped up in the air again. Both his arms transformed in snakes with swords, while he opened his own mouth to show a sharp blade.

"Dodge it!" Jiraiya yelled as he attacked Kabuto with some shuriken, but that didn't make Kabuto let Jiraiya pass.

"Sakura!" Tsunade said, unable to heal Sakura's wound.

Orochimaru shot his swords, them going straight towards Naruto and Sakura.

"Sakura! Move away!" Tsunade ordered, but Sakura didn't listen.

"No! I'm not leaving without Naruto!" Sakura said as she held onto Naruto again.

"Sakura!" Tsunade said as she wanted to jump towards Sakura and Naruto, but Jiraiya appeared and took Tsunade in his hands, jumping away from the two. He looked behind him, seeing his kage bunshin disappear as well as Kabuto defeated him. But at least it kept Kabuto in the back.

"I've got you!" Orochimaru screamed as the swords hit it's target, somehow creating a huge cloud of dust.

"Sakura! Naruto!" Tsunade screamed as she and Jiraiya landed on the ground.

There were some sounds, like swords falling on the ground, as suddenly jumped up from the cloud of dust in high speed.

"Silly, what do you think you were doing?"

Sakura looked up to the face who saved her... and the voice was all too familiar.

"N-Na-Naruto..." Sakura stuttered as tears began to form in her eyes again.

Naruto held her in bridal style, slowly descending down.

Naruto grinned, his eyes closed. "The only one, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled at his goofy grin while the tears fell down, "I knew it! You came back!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. They landed nearby Tsunade ad Jiraiya, who came running towards them.

Naruto planted his arms around her waist, holding her tightly, smelling her scent; "I could never leave you, Sakura-chan. I love you too much for it..."

Sakura didn't pulled away; this felt so good. But she was wide awake now.

'Did he just said that he... loves me?' Sakura thought, never knowing that...

He loves her as well.

* * *

Dun-dun-duuuuun! Jup, who knew ? Haha! They may have kissed, but they never told each other they love each other :3

I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I actually wrote everything I wanted in this chapter.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	20. I Won't Die

Hey guys

Hey guys! Chapter 20 already! Epic! XD

Thanks for waiting! Let's continue, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

* * *

**Chapter 20: I Won't Die**

"So, the little _fox_ boy is back?" Orochimaru hissed, clearly not happy with what just happened.

Naruto gently pushed Sakura away, but never removed his hands from her waist.

He grinned; "That's right! And I'll never, _ever_ let you hurt anyone around here!"

Orochimaru grinned as well; "It was never my intention to _hurt_ anyone, Naruto-kun. I only wanted to destroy them if they stood in my way!" With that, Orochimaru sprinted towards Naruto to attack.

Naruto quickly reacted and pushed Sakura towards Jiraiya and Tsunade, so that they could catch her.

"Naruto! Wait! You can't-!" Jiraiya yelled, but Naruto didn't listen. He only grinned.

"Don't worry, I have new strength, given to me... by my guardian angel." Naruto said as he grabbed his kunai from his pocket, waiting to clash with Orochimaru.

"Guardian angels won't save you this time, Naruto-kun!" Orochimaru yelled as he also grabbed his kunai.

Orochimaru's kunai connected with Naruto's kunai with great force. Naruto shoved backwards because of the force, but Orochimaru went with him.

Naruto's arm who held the kunai was shaking; he had a hard time to keep Orochimaru away from him. Orochimaru noticed this and grinned.

"I don't know how you came back from the _death_, but I'll make sure you won't come back this time!" Orochimaru said as he used more force to bring Naruto down.

Naruto's eyes gave a red glint for a second, and he smirked. "Oh? Are you coming with me, then?"

As Naruto said that, red chakra started to appear around him, giving him an enormous boost. He started to push back, and with success.

Orochimaru was thrown back. Even he was slightly surprised by the sudden force.

"Interesting..." Orochimaru said as he licked his lips with his large, snake like, tongue. "Kabuto." Orochimaru said, as he tilted his head slightly towards Kabuto and Sasuke, who were watching silently.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto replied.

"How is Sasuke-kun?"

"Ah, well..." Kabuto hesitated, "His injuries are more severe then I thought. I cannot heal him here."

"So, there is no other choice?"

"It seems so, sir."

Orochimaru looked at Naruto. Naruto was in his battle stance, but didn't make a move. Orochimaru also noticed Jiraiya and Tsunade standing there, reading to jump in when necessary.

And there was Sakura.

She wasn't that much of a threat to Orochimaru, but she could cause serious problem.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered, looking at him. She couldn't believe he was back, she couldn't believe he was alive and breathing. While just seconds ago, he was...

She shook her head, 'No, I will not think about that, Naruto is here, he's alive and... he facing Orochimaru!'

Sakura turned her head towards Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were silently watching. "Master, Jiraiya-sama! We have to help Naruto! He will never make it, he'll die!"

Tsunade looked at her. "Don't worry Sakura, it looks like Orochimaru won't fight... Unless he uses the summoning technique."

"Why won't he attack?"

Jiraiya answered this time; "Because Orochimaru has to fight us all when he attacks, and he only has Kabuto. Although they are both very strong, they have to fight with all they've got. That does not please them."

Sakura looked towards Orochimaru. But ended looking at Kabuto and Sasuke, who was still sitting on the ground against the wall. His clothes were partly torn, mostly because of Kabuto tore it so that he could heal.

"But what about Sasuke?"

"Apparently he can't fight anymore. Kabuto must have not enough healing skills to heal him." Jiraiya explained.

"Sasuke is that badly hurt?" Sakura gasped, still worried about him. She couldn't help it, she still cared about him whether she liked it or not.

Jiraiya and Tsunade both nodded without saying a word.

"Sasuke..." She whispered. But right as she whispered his name, Sasuke looked up, his dark eyes burying into her own.

He didn't had a cold look in his eyes anymore. His look was... apologizing?

'Why?' She thought to herself, 'That's not like him, not at all!' Sakura was arguing with herself, but found herself nodding towards him.

It looked like he gave a slight sigh of relief, but Sakura could have imagined that, because as soon as it came, his eyes turned cold again and turned towards Orochimaru and Naruto.

"Sir, what about the summoning technique?" Kabuto silently suggested.

"No, that's too much effort right now. Besides, I want to use Kuchiyose no Jutsu later on, when Sasuke is fully recovered for another battle."

"You want to wait?" Kabuto asked surprised.

"Yes," Orochimaru grinned, "I want Naruto-kun to become much stronger as well."

"Whatever you say, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said as he walked towards Sasuke, helping him to stand up and disappear from the fighting scene.

"Wait," Sasuke said as he slowly stood up with the help from Kabuto. "what are we doing? Do you _want_ us to look like cowards?"

"It is inevitable, Sasuke-kun. Your wounds have to be healed in a more secure surrounding." Kabuto answered, catching the glare that Sasuke gave him.

"It's your fault your not skilled enough with your medical jutsu. You could have made me ready for battle again if you had enough skills and chakra. You are too weak." Sasuke hissed.

Kabuto did not let go of Sasuke, but only growled.

"Relax, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said, turning towards Sasuke and Kabuto. "We will get back so that you can fight Naruto-kun again." He smirked.

"That's right, Orochimaru," Sasuke hissed again. "this is _my_ fight. You will not interrupt this again. And if you will try to steal the Kyuubi again from Naruto's body, I will _kill_ you." Sasuke glared, but Orchimaru didn't seemed amazed by the threat.

"We'll see about that, Sasuke-kun."

"Hey! Orochimaru!" A scream came from he other side of the room. "Are you running away? I thought you wanted to fight!" Naruto yelled as he saw that Orochimaru started moving, but not towards him.

Orochimaru chuckled a dark chuckle; "Do not worry, Naruto-kun, I will be back. I'll make Sasuke stronger, and I hope you will do the same for yourself."

"Wait!" Naruto said, as he ran towards them. He didn't had his eyes on Orochimaru, but on Sasuke, who was glaring back at him.

"Get strong, Naruto-kun, because we will be back to take the price." Orochimaru said as Kabuto threw a kunai towards him which landed right before him, making Naruto stop.

It had a explosive card attached to it. Before Naruto could do anything, Kabuto made one simple hand sign to let the explosive explode, creating a cloud of dust, which made it harder for Naruto to see.

"No, wait!" But as soon as the dust disappeared, so were Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke.

The only thing that was heard, was Orochimaru's laughter. It's sound was echoing through the room.

Naruto looked up at the hole he created with his rasengan. "Just you wait, Orochimaru! I will become strong! I will not die again!"

"I-is it over?" Sakura whispered with hesitation.

"Yes, it is." Tsunade replied, not surprised with what happened.

"For now..." Jiraiya muttered under his breath, but was not heard by either Sakura or Tsunade.

"Why did they left?" Sakura couldn't understand it.

"If he would have continued, he would either lose or get kicked in the crotch pretty hard. Now he didn't win, he didn't lose. There will be a rematch, and we will be ready for it." Tsunade grinned towards Sakura.

Sakura couldn't smile just yet.

Even though she saw that they were gone, even though Tsunade confirmed that it was over, Sakura still had a feeling that something was going to happen. Maybe not now, but it the future. Something horrible, something that would involve them all.

"Sakura-chan." A soft voice called out to her. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up.

Naruto stood there, with a soft look on his face. "Sakura-chan, I'm so happy to see you again."

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered, tears of joy and relief building up in her eyes. Suddenly, she lunged herself into his arms, wanting to hold him and never let go.

Naruto wrapped his own arms around her waist, his head burying in her hair, wanting to smell her strawberry scent for so long.

"Y-you big dummy!" Sakura choked, tears running freely over her face now. She buried her head deeper into his chest, making it hard to hear her words. "I-I thought I lost you! I thought you were gone! I thought... I thought..." Sakura didn't finished her sentence. She couldn't anymore.

Naruto held her tighter in his arms. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, for making you worried. I wanted to come back to you, but I couldn't hear you. You were too far away."

This made Sakura confused, "What? You couldn't hear me? What are you talking about?" She asked, her face now removed from his chest, looking up at Naruto.

Naruto laughed softly, apparently finding her being confused funny. "I was in a white room, and there was a beautiful lady with long, red hair in that room. She told me I wasn't ready to die yet, she told me... I had to go back to you."

'A woman with long, red hair? That must be-!'

"I couldn't hear you, or anyone else in that room. I wanted to hear you, so that I could go back to you. So the lady told me I had to remember all my friends in Konoha. Once I remembered them all, I could go back! That lady helped me. She also said she was my guardian angel. Amazing huh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, really, Naruto. Did you maybe asked for her name?" Sakura asked, just to be sure.

"Oh yeah! Her name was Kushina! I don't know why, but when she said her name, I felt all warm inside."

'So, it really was his mother. She really is his guardian angel.' Sakura thought, and looked up towards the roof, knowing she was there. 'I really must thank her once we get back to Konoha. I'll thank her when I'm at the monument.'

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said softly, getting Sakura's attention back to him.

She looked at him, while he softly stroked his hand on her cheek, also pushing some bangs away.

"I really, really missed you..." He slowly came closer to her face, as Sakura closed her eyes, not stopping him.

Naruto also closed her eyes as he could feel her breath on his lips. He reached in for the kiss...

TOINK!

"Ow, ow, owwww!" Naruto said as he jumped away from Sakura, letting her go. Sakura looked at him in surprise, wondering what just happened.

Naruto rubbed the top of his head as a piece of stone fell on the ground. He looked up, seeing that the roof was starting to collapse.

The surroundings began to shake, making it hard to stand up straight.

"The lair is going to collapse! We must get out immediately!" Tsunade screamed as she nodded towards Jiraiya, who looked towards Naruto and Sakura. Naruto understood immediately.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he reached out his hand. Sakura understood as well, grabbing his hand, letting their fingers get intertwined.

They jumped out of the hole in the roof one for one, probably the same exit that Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke used before they made the lair collapse.

* * *

Yes, it is GOING TO CONTINUE! This isn't the end! Isn't that fun?

(silence)

Ok... Anyway, did you like it? I had a little bit of rouble with this chapter though; I hope I didn't made hem TOO OOC...

Anyways, Review please!


	21. His Unexpected Message

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! Thanks all so much for the wait! You really are faithful readers (tears).

Anyways, the story isn't over yet! Let's see what's going to happen, mhkay?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

* * *

**Chapter 21: His Unexpected Message**

"I see.. so that's what happened..." Shizune exclaimed after hearing the whole story from Tsunade and Jiraiya.

The group had returned to Konoha, and Tsunade had to go back to her role as Hokage. She invited both Shizune and Kakashi to let them know what happened.

"What about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade closed her eyes as she rested her head on the top of her hands. "He escaped, together with Orochimaru and Kabuto."

Shizune looked down while Kakashi showed no emotions. "I see..." He replied.

"But we completed the mission," Jiraiya said, breaking the silence. "we rescued Sakura."

Tsunade opened her eyes, but her head was still resting on top of her hands. "Yes, thank God we did..."

There was a silence again in the room. Tsunade sat up straight and broke the silence; "That is all. Kakashi, Shizune, you both are dismissed. I will call for you when needed."

"Yes!" They both said as Kakashi disappeared, leaving an cloud of dust behind. Shizune made her exit using the door.

After they were both gone, Jiraiya turned towards Tsunade; "What's on your mind?"

Tsunade stood up and walked towards the window which was behind her desk; it viewed whole Konoha. "You can tell?"

"Well, I can tell there is _something_ on your mind." Jiraiya replied, his eyes following her every move.

"We rescued Sakura... but why do I have the feeling that we have done absolutely nothing to help when we were there?"

"What do you mean, Tsunade?"

"Did you see those kids, Jiraiya? Their faces when the battle began? Especially Naruto's, which said, don't worry, leave this to me! I'll be fine!..." Tsunade said while she continued to look outside.

"Yes, I have seen them." Jiraiya replied. "And you have the feeling you've listened to what his face said?"

Tsunade only nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Don't you think I feel the same way? But we couldn't do anything, Tsunade. You know that."

"But why do I still feel so useless now? They were both getting hurt, both mind and body."

"They are ninja's, Tsunade, they have to take care of themselves. We can't protect them all the time."

"I know..." Tsunade sighed. She turned around so she could look at Jiraiya.

"Now..." Jiraiya said as he stretched his arms out to her, "Shall we hug? Maybe you feel much better after that."

Tsunade squinted her eyes, "You are dismissed, Jiraiya!" She said, trying not to smash him into the ground.

Jiraiya sighed, "Oh well, maybe next time." As Jiraiya said that, he lowered his arms and walked past Tsunade, towards the window. He opened one and climbed through it to get outside.

"There are other ways to get out, Jiraiya!" Tsunade said, her fist now shaking.

Jiraiya pretended he didn't hear her. "Well then, I'll go get some research for my new book. See you later, Tsunade!" Jiraiya said as he went from roof to roof to get down.

"You Ero-sennin..." Tsunade whispered, with a little smile on her face.

* * *

"Ah, Sakura-chan! Were you waiting for me?" Naruto happily asked as he went through the door of the hospital. Sakura was waiting for him outside the gate, as a surprise.

She shook her head, "No, I just got here. I thought I'd surprise you."

Naruto had an enormous smile on his face as he heard that. He practically run towards Sakura to give her a hug.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." He whispered in her ears as he gave her a little peck on the cheek.

"N-Naruto! Don't... don't give me a kiss like that... Not when everyone can see..." Sakura said as she tried to push him off.

Naruto didn't seem to be taken aback by this; he kept on smiling. "Why is that, Sakura-chan? Now I can actually hug you without getting hit!"

"You big dummy!" Sakura said angry as she smacked him down.

"Ow, ow, oowww... That hurt..." Naruto said as he twitched on the ground.

"Oh, oh my gosh, Naruto! I- I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Are you ok?" Sakura said, her voice full of concern, as she kneeled down besides Naruto.

Naruto held himself up with his arms as he looked at Sakura. "Hehe, don't worry, Sakura-chan. It hurt, but I had bigger smack-downs then this."

He gave Sakura and innocent smile, but Sakura wasn't happy.

"You idiot, you idiot, you idiot!" Sakura repeated again and again. "I thought I really hurt you!" Tears started to form in her eyes.

"S-Sakura-chan...?" Naruto asked confused and concerned. She never acted like this, and she often hit him much harder than this.

"I... I'm sorry Naruto..." Sakura whispered as she quickly wiped her tears away. "It's just that... when you fought Sasuke... I thought I'd lost you... I was really scared!" Sakura said, not taking her eyes off of him.

Naruto's eyes grew soft as he understood, "Sakura-chan..." He scooped her on his lap as he buried his head in her hair. "I'll never, ever leave you, you know that, right?"

Sakura liked this warmth coming from him. It was soothing; she really felt save in his arms. She nodded; "I know, Naruto... I really do... But just to make sure... Will you stay with me?"

Naruto smiled, "Of course, Sakura-chan. I'll stay with you forever."

Sakura sighed a happy sigh as she suddenly realised in what kind of position they were in. She quickly stood up with a blush as she let out a little cough.

Naruto also stood up, with a little smile that was not leaving his face.

"A-anyway, how was your check-up at the hospital?" Sakura asked, changing the topic. Walking away from Naruto and the hospital. Naruto quickly followed.

"Ah, well, I only have a few cuts and bruises, but I'm totally fine!" Naruto said. He had to come to the hospital after they heard his 'coming-back-from-the-death' story. But of course, they didn't find any suspicious things.

"That guardian angel really saved me!" Naruto said. "I told you, right Sakura-chan? About a beautiful guardian angel with long red hair and such?"

"Yes, you told me, Naruto. I'm really glad that she helped you." Sakura said, knowing more about his guardian angel than Naruto knew.

'Should I... tell him?' Sakura thought, looking at him. But before she could give it any more thought, it was interrupted by something warm holding her hand.

It was Naruto's hand, clasping her hand, not planning to let go.

'His hand is so warm...' Sakura thought, blushing a little.

"You know, Sakura-chan?" Naruto suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts again.

"Mh?" Sakura said, looking at him.

"I'm really glad I was able to come back." Naruto stopped as he turned his head towards Sakura. Naruto was a little bit bigger than Sakura, so he had to look down.

He didn't let go of her hand.

"Yes, me too, Naruto." Sakura nodded as she gazed into in deep, blue eyes.

"I felt like... there was something I had to do here, or actually more things than one, so I couldn't go yet. I think she understood that."

"And what were the things you wanted to do?" Sakura asked.

"Well," Naruto didn't needed to put much thought into that. "I still want to save Sasuke from Orochimaru, I won't stop trying that."

Sakura nodded; that was also one of her goals.

"Second, I want to become Hogake." Naruto proudly said.

Sakura giggled; Well, that was pretty obvious.

"And my most important reason... is to be with you." Naruto softly said, his grin didn't disappear.

"Naruto..." Sakura smiled. She noticed that Naruto's face was getting closer to hers, and she knew that he wanted to do something she also wanted to do.

Sakura closed her eyes and also moved her head towards Naruto. She was so close to his lips; she could feel his breath softly on her lips.

'I don't want to stop...' Sakura thought. 'I really want to ki-'

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" A voice interrupted her thoughts again as both Naruto and Sakura released their hands and quickly parted from each other.

Their eyes looked for the person whom the voice belonged to.

"Ah! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto happily said as he saw Iruka walking towards them.

"Oh, Sakura is with you? Oh...wait... " Iruka said as he gave a few soft elbows in Naruto's ribs.

"Hey, are you two..." Iruka whispered towards Naruto as he showed his little finger, going up and down.

Naruto blushed, "No! No, we are not-!"

Sakura coughed angrily as she looked at Iruka. "Excuse me Iruka-sensei, but I heard and saw everything you just did. Now if you two will excuse me, I have some errands to do." Sakura said as she walked past Naruto and Iruka, towards the market.

"A-ah, Sakura-chan!" But Sakura didn't heard his call. Naruto sighed, getting down all of a sudden.

"Hey, hey, Naruto-kun. Were you two about to kiss?" Iruka asked, sounding like a little schoolboy.

"Iruka-sensei..." Naruto whined, not really wanted to answer to that.

Iruka laughed and patted Naruto on his shoulder. "What do you say, want to get some Ramen with me? I wanna hear all about your mission."

Suddenly, Naruto's head perked up and he had one of his big grins on his face. "Your treat!" as he dashed off towards Ichiraku's Ramen.

"Yes, yes..." Iruka sighed with a smile, following him, knowing he can't compete with him when it comes to that.

* * *

"Ahh... we were about to kiss.. again!" Sakura sighed as she walked past the shops of Konoha.

'I really wanted it, though...' Sakura said, touching her lips. Somehow, she was still unsure about how she felt about Naruto. She loved him, of course, he was her friend. But she was terrified that she would lose him forever. If it wasn't for his guardian angel, who knows what she would have done. She probably would have died as well. She would have died of loss...

She suddenly stopped as she remembered something.

'I should go to the monument to thank her...' Sakura thought as she dashed of towards he monument that was placed there in memory of the victims that were created because of the nine-tailed fox. It wasn't that far away as she arrived after a few minutes.

She kneeled down before the monument, as she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

"Kushina Uzumaki... I want to thank you for everything you have done. You have helped me so much, you've helped Naruto so much. Well, I think that's obvious, he is your son after all."

Sakura smiled as she continued, "Thank you for bringing someone who is so dear to be back, I really wouldn't know what I would have done if he wasn't here anymore. Thank you for having such a great son, who makes me laugh, makes me angry, but most of all... makes me feel save. I really hope he can stay with me forever and that I can stay with him forever. Thank you so much, Kushina Uzumaki."

Sakura opened her eyes as she finished talking. She stood up, looking at the monument.

Suddenly, a little, yellow bird landed on the monument. Sakura looked at it; it was a really cute bird. It seemed like someone took care of it; it looked really healthy and it's feathers were shining in the sun.

The bird flew towards her and landed on her left shoulder. 'Mh? A message bird? That's strange, it doesn't even look like a message bird. What makes it even more strange is that it's not one of ours or other countries.

The bird began to chirp as if it wanted the attention from Sakura.

"Oh? You got a message from me, little birdie?" Sakura said as she unhook the case that was attached to his right paw which had a little sheet of paper inside. Once Sakura had the case, the bird flew up and landed on her head, making itself comfortable in her hair.

"Hey, hey, I'm not a nest, got it?" Sakura said, but the bird didn't pay attention to her.

Sakura sighed as she opened the case and took the paper. She unrolled the paper to see there was a message on it.

Her eyes went wide as she read the first few sentences;

_Sakura..._

_I need to talk to you..._

_Explain you everything..._

She quickly went to the end of the letter without even reading the rest. The one who send it wasn't someone she expected it to be.

_Sasuke._

* * *

Gasp! What does Sasuke wants?! And why is Sakura unsure about her feelings for Naruto? Come on girl, you love the boy!

I hope you also liked this chapter. Get ready for chapter 22!

Please read and review


	22. Lying Truth

Pfff.. It's so freaking hot.. Why, oh why?! I hate summer so much...

Thanks for waiting! Your patience has been rewarded xDDD

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

* * *

**Chapter 22: Lying Truth**

Sakura was shaking. Or was it the ground that was shaking?

No, it was defiantly her.

'W-what does this mean? Why does Sasuke... want to meet me? It doesn't make any sense!' She thought furiously, as she read the words over and over again.

She suddenly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, 'Ok, Sakura, don't let it get to you. Calm down...'

She read the letter once more, noticing that there was more written on it;

Come to the entrance gate of Konoha tonight at 8, I will be waiting for you, but come alone. That will be a warning.

'What does he want to tell me...?' Sakura thought as clenched the letter tightly in her right hand.

The yellow bird who was sitting on her head made some noise, but didn't move an inch. Sakura was getting annoyed by that.

"What are you still doing here?" She asked the bird. "Get off my head, you delivered the letter, now fly back to Sasuke."

The bird didn't move.

Sakura squinted her eyes, getting even more angry at the bird. "Argh! Go away! I accept, ok?! Is that what you wanna hear?!" She raised her fist ready to punch the bird away.

At that very same moment, the bird flew away, like nothing happened. Sakura stood there, her fist still in the air, watching the bird fly away.

"Crap..." Sakura said, suddenly feeling very nervous and hot. Sakura lowered her fist slowly and didn't look away towards where the bird flew off to. 'It needed my approval! Now he's flying to Sasuke saying I accepted!'

Sakura let herself fall on the ground, her eyes closed.

'What should I do?!'

* * *

"So, you couldn't save Sasuke, huh?" Iruka asked Naruto who sat besides him. The two agreed to go to Ichiraku's for some ramen, while Naruto told the story from their mission.

Naruto nodded as reply, stuffing some ramen into his mouth.

"What about Sakura?"

Naruto swallowed, "What about her?" He asked.

"Well, she was... well, kidnapped by Orochimaru, right? Didn't she see Sasuke there?"

Naruto thought about it, while finishing the rest of his ramen, "Mh, I haven't actually asked her about that, really..."

"You should, maybe Sasuke left some clues. But I'm glad you two are ok, it seemed like you had a tough battle. Including Jiraiya-sama and the fifth Hogake."

"Yeah..." Naruto said, staring at his empty bowl. "I was... scared though, when Sakura-chan was kidnapped. I... I honestly thought I would never see her again. Or that when I would see her... she would be... dead."

Iruka was a bit shocked Naruto confessed this, "Naruto.. it's not like you to think like that."

Naruto looked up at Iruka, "I know. I don't know what it was...When I think about it, it gives me Goosebumps and a sick feeling in my stomach."

Iruka nodded, "Yeah, love is great."

Naruto nodded as well, "Yeah... wait, what?!" Naruto looked at Iruka with a shocked look on his face. "What does all that have to do with love?!"

"Mh? Isn't it obvious?" Iruka said with a sly grin on his face. "You want to protect her."

"I want to protect everyone."

"You want to be there by her side when something happens."

"I want that with everyone else."

"You are scared that something happens to her. You are scared _for_ her."

"That... that is..." Naruto didn't knew how to respond to that.

"Naruto," Iruka started with a soft smile on his face. "you are a good kid. You want to help everyone, despite what happened in the past. But what you feel for Sakura, is more then normal to feel that way. You love her, don't you?"

"Y-yes! I love her!" Naruto said with a blush on his face, but confidence in his voice.

Iruka nodded, "Then go tell her that. Tell her you want to be with her, close to her."

"You think she'll accept? I mean, her punches hurt, you know?" Naruto said, rubbing his left cheek automatically.

Iruka laughed, "From what I've seen before, I think you'll be just fine."

Naruto blushed a bit. That's right; Iruka saw the both of them almost kiss.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei! I have to go to Sakura right now! I just want to see her!" Naruto stood up with a wide grin and his fists clenched.

"Then go, Naruto." Iruka said.

"I'll leave you with the bill!" Naruto said as he ran out.

"What the- Naruto! Not again!" Iruka said as he also went outside, only to see Naruto almost being on the other side of the village.

"Oh yeah, and get a girlfriend!" Naruto yelled, barely audible, but audible enough for Iruka.

That sentence made him blush slightly as he muttered, "I'm working on it..."

* * *

"I'll go... no, I can't go... But I already accepted... but that was to get rid of that bird... But what harm could it cause if I go...? Naruto..." Sakura muttered in herself, while she was still at the monument, walking in circles.

All sorts of things went through her head as she thought about Sasuke's invitation. What could he possibly do to hurt her? She knew how she could defend herself, no problem.

"But what would Naruto think..." Sakura stopped walking and looked sadly to the ground. "Should I even _tell_ him?"

She grabbed the letter from her pocket as she read it again. She couldn't believe this actually happened.

She had doubts, but... "No Sakura," She sternly said to herself. "you are not who you used to be. You're not a weakling anymore. You have to do this! Truth is... I have some questions for him a well..." She sighed as she read the letter _again_.

"Sakura-chan!" She heard a enthusiastic voice coming from behind her. She knew who that was.

She quickly put the letter away in her pocket and turned around to see a happy blonde with big blue eyes running towards her.

"Naruto..." She softly whispered. She tried not to make any sad faces or suspicious movements. But she hated to lie... to him.

"Sakura-chan! I knew you would still be here!" Naruto said happily as he came closer to get.

"Y-yeah, I had a lot of thinking to do." Which wasn't a lie.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto softly said as he pulled her into a hug. She tightly hugged him back, her heart racing.

Naruto noticed the tight hugging. He softly pushed himself away from her. "What's up, Sakura-chan? Are you that happy to see me?" He asked with a goofy grin on his face.

Sakura smiled a sad smile, but tried hard to hide it, "Yeah... I really wanted to see you, Naruto."

Naruto blushed as he now turned into a insecure school boy. "W-well, here I am, Sakura-chan. Uhm, uh, do... do you wanna talk about something? Uhm, s-since you wanted to see me, and all..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking up towards the sky.

Sakura giggled at this, forgetting the situation for a moment. "No, not really. I just, wanted to see you. Is that bad?" She asked playfully, but Naruto didn't seem to notice.

Suddenly, he grabbed both her hands with still a blush on his face. "No-no! It's not bad, no, Sakura-chan! We can always see each other, whether or not we have something to talk about!"

"So, why do you wanna see me?" Sakura asked, letting Naruto to hold her hands.

Naruto was quiet for a while, as if he had forgotten what he wanted to talk about. Suddenly, he remembered.

"Ah, yes! Sakura-chan... I have... actually two things I wanna ask you..."

Sakura nodded, "Ok, go ahead."

Well, the first thing... and tell me if you don't wanna talk about it, but... did you see Sasuke in Orochimaru's lair? I mean, before the fight started?"

Sakura looked shocked at this question. There was a pause for while until Sakura answered, "Yes, I did see him there."

"R-really?!" Naruto didn't really expected this answer. "Did you speak with him?"

Sakura shook her head, "No... not really... I actually don't really remember much before the big fight..." Sakura said, looking down. 'Probably because I have been drugged there...'

"Ah, I see..." Naruto said, and it seemed he was thinking about something. Sakura carefully looked at him, checking if he was looking strangely at her.

He wasn't.

He quietly looked towards the sky, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"And what is the second thing you wanted to ask me...?" Sakura carefully asked.

It was quiet for a while until Naruto looked at her again and replied;

"Ah, the second one is something important I want to say to you... But I don't want to say it just like this. I want to make it... special. So... Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes looking at her emerald eyes.

"Y-yes?" Sakura said, a bit nervous, but her heart raced faster, which had a good feeling.

"Would you... like to go out with me on a date tonight?" Naruto asked with a serious face, but somehow scared for rejection.

Sakura almost cried, "T-tonight? Oh, Naruto, I-"

"Oh, we aren't going to Ichiraku this time, Sakura-chan, so don't worry about that!" Naruto said, thinking she was hesitating about that.

Sakura stayed quiet. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't tell him she was going to meet Sasuke tonight, she just couldn't.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto broke the silence as he heard no reply from Sakura. "Could it be that you don't want to go on a date with me? Because I would totally understand if-"

"No! That's not it, Naruto!" Sakura interrupted him. 'Maybe he's thinking I don't want to go on a date with him... Maybe he thinks I don't like him!'

"Do you maybe have to do something else?" Naruto asked, his head slightly crooked.

"Ah, uhm, yes. Yes... there are some personal things I need to do tonight. I- I'm sorry..."

Naruto laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Silly, don't worry about that! I know you wouldn't lie to me."

Sakura hugged him tighter when he said the word 'lie'. It seemed like it was echoing in her head. She couldn't take him.

She quickly pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eye. "Naruto!"

Naruto looked shocked at her sudden movement, "W-what is it Sakura-chan?"

'I'm meeting Sasuke tonight... Come on, say it! Meeting... Sasuke... Why can't I say it?!' Sakura yelled to herself as Naruto waited for her reply.

Sakura sighed; she just couldn't say it. 'It seems like I'm still weak, after all...'

"Uhm, h-how about tomorrow? You know, going on a date? I mean, I'm available, I don't have anything to do."

Naruto smiled. "I was thinking the same thing, Sakura-chan. I'm so glad you want to go on a date with me."

Sakura smiled as well, as she quickly gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she hugged him again as he hugged her back, burying his face in her hair, smelling her scent.

'I'm so sorry Naruto,' Sakura said to herself as she buried her face in his chest, hugging him tighter. 'I'm so sorry...'

* * *

Short, I know. Wanna keep some action for next chapter :D

I hope you all still like it! You guys keep me going! Thank you all so much!

Please review!


	23. Warning

Hey guys

Hey guys! Remember me? :D j/k j/k

See the date? Now see the date when this story was published... That's right! It's the first anniversary of Open Your Eyes! OMG! I can't believe it was a year already 0 And I'm glad you all still like it! (sniff) I'm so touched...

Thank you all so much for being such faithful readers! (gives some cookies)

Let's continue, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

* * *

**Chapter 23: Warning**

It was evening already, and Sakura was making her way to the gates of Konoha. What if he was already there? What if he _wasn't_ there yet?

Sakura fiercely shook her head while she walked, 'I've gotta get a hold of myself! I'll go make myself crazy if I continue like this.'

She stopped at the gates; he wasn't there yet. Well, she couldn't see him or _feel_ his chakra, which made it obvious that he wasn't here yet.

'What if he was joking? What if he made a sick joke? What if he was laughing his ass off at wherever he was? What if I was the fool again?' She thought to heself as she slowly pushed herself forward.

The wind began to blow a bit, making her pink, short hair dancing in the wind. She didn't had her headband on; why would she?

She looked around her; it was dark, almost creepy. She couldn't see anything, so she had to trust her chakra navigation.

The wind was blowing some more, making Sakura shiver. Strange; it wasn't even _that_ cold. You could easily walk without a jacket outside.

But she knew it the shiver wasn't from the cold _or_ the wind.

"Sakura..."

It was him; he arrived.

"Sasuke." Sakura stated coolly.

It was the same as when he left; he stood behind her again, trying to take her off guard. But she didn't cry right now like when she did then.

She wasn't feeling anything at all at the moment.

She was trying to keep herself together, or rather, to keep her cool.

He stood behind her; the wind made his bangs touch her neck slightly.

'Is he that close to me?!' Sakura thought to herself. Somehow, she couldn't turn around. And somehow, the images of that night when he left played in her head, over and over again.

"I see you're still as careless as ever..." He stated in a cold voice, almost whispering.

Sakura smirked and let out a snort; "Do you really think so?"

Sakura suddenly turned around, with her fist held back, ready to attack. "Do you think this is careless, Sasuke?!" She yelled, her fist making it's way towards Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly jumped up, his face showing no emotion. When he made his way down, he could see Sakura's punch wasn't meant for him; she focused her hit on the ground.

As soon as Sasuke landed on the ground, Sakura's fist connected to the ground, making the ground beneath them shake. A huge spit made it's way towards Sasuke, making the ground slide up on it's way, creating sharp boulders. Sasuke had only seconds to react.

And he did.

Just in time, he jumped away from the split and the sharp boulders that were coming out of the ground. It wasn't yet as strong as Tsunade's punch, but Sakura was defiantly getting there.

He landed behind Sakura, making Sakura quickly turning around. "Yes, I think it is." He replied, answering her question.

Sakura slowly stood straight as well, not taking her eyes of off Sasuke. If looks would kill, Sakura would have killed Sasuke.

'Crap!' Sakura thought as she quickly glanced towards the entrance of Konoha, where the guards _should_ have been.

'They had to feel it! They had to hear it!' She thought, but no guards were running towards her or screaming about what just happened.

"If you're worried about the guards, then don't. I've taken care of them before I was meeting you." Sasuke said, making Sakura look at him again.

'Great, so he was here already?' Sakura thought annoyed. 'He probably knocked them unconscious...'

"You've gotten stronger." Sasuke said, still in a emotionless tone.

This didn't caught Sakura off guard, "Well, thank you very much Sasuke. You've become more of a prick." Sakura said, as she wiped the dust off her gloves.

"Sakura, I'm not here to fight you." Sasuke said, as the wind began to blow softly again.

"Yeah, I know. But I cannot be too careful when it comes to you." Sakura replied, actually hoping to see some emotion on his face when she said those things.

But he showed nothing.

"Sakura, I'm here to warn you." This made Sakura angry.

"Excuse me? _Warn_ me? Gee, couldn't you warn me _before_ I was kidnapped by Orochimaru?! Or was that too much effort for you?! Oh no, you couldn't! You and Orochimaru are _best_ buddies, after all!" Sakura yelled. She tried not to yell too loud; she knows that there are always some Konoha shinobi patrolling the area.

She couldn't help it; she was so mad at him. For everything he did, for leaving Team 7, for betraying their trust, for hurting Naruto...

"You _hurt_ Naruto!" She suddenly blurted out.

"He hurt himself. He let the Kyuubi's power take over him. I had nothing to do with it." Still no emotion.

"You were the trigger," Sakura snapped back.

"Weren't you?" Sasuke immediately threw back.

Sakura was getting a headache. She slightly rubbed her temples with her eyes closed. Why was she feeling so tired all of a sudden?

"I wanna slap you so bad..." Sakura whispered, still her eyes closed. Even though the whisper was soft, Sasuke could still hear it. The whisper was carried on the wind towards him.

"Then slap me." Sasuke said, making Sakura look up.

"Like your going to let me..." Sakura said, feeling the urge to do so even more.

* * *

'Did I just feel... some kind of earthquake?' Tsunade thought as she looked outside her window in her Hokage office.

'I know this type of quake... It's my type. It couldn't be... that Sakura is-'

"Yo, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto burst through the door with a happy face.

"Naruto, can't you just knock?" Tsunade asked irritated, but not looking at him. She still stared outside while the lights of the houses made Konoha less dark.

It almost looked peaceful.

"Sorry, sorry, Tsunade-obaachan." Naruto said grinning as he held his hands behind his head.

There was a moment of silence, which made Tsunade turn around to look at Naruto.

"Well?" Tsunade asked impatiently, "What do you want?"

Naruto still grinned but let his arms fall to his side again, "Nothing really, I was just bored."

Tsunade groaned as she took a seat in her chair behind the big desk. "Are you serious, Naruto? You do understand that I have no time for this, right?"

"Right, right!" Naruto replied, still grinning.

Tsunade knew it was no use; you couldn't just throw this kid out without giving him something to do.

"Would you like a one-man mission?" Tsunade offered.

Naruto shook his head, "No."

This took Tsunade by surprise, "No? What is it that you want then, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't really know. I was just walking outside and the next thing I knew, I'm here..."

Tsunade smiled a bit, "It's ok, Naruto. You can stay here if you want."

Naruto's face lit up again, "Thanks, Tsunade-obaachan!"

* * *

"Try not to let your anger get the best of you. It's bad for a kunoichi." Sasuke said, as he took a few steps towards Sakura.

Sakura held her fists up, letting him know not to mess with her. "Gee, thanks for the notice." She replied with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

Sasuke was not moved by it, but she knew her heard her.

Sasuke sighed slightly, but didn't changed his emotionless face, "I'm not to fight you, Sakura."

"Yeah," Sakura replied quickly. "you're here to warn me, right? Well, spit it out! What do you want to warn me about?"

"He's coming," He cut right to the case. Sakura looked confused and Sasuke saw that. He continued, "The man I hate most... is coming." Now there was finally some emotion shown on Sasuke's face.

Hate.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled as she barged into Tsunade's office, startling Naruto.

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade said, knowing something happened when Shizune barged in like that.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I've just received the report from the Sunagakure village on that... certain matter." Shizune said, as she quickly gave a side glance towards Naruto, who was looking at her confused.

"From Gaara?" Tsunade said, which made Naruto look at her. "So? State your report, Shizune."

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said. "well, the rumors that were going around in other villages has been confirmed."

"So, it's true then?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade rested her head on top of her hands as she closed her eyes.

"Are they close by?" Tsunade asked Shizune, not opening her eyes.

"We don't know yet, Tsunade-sama. I have to ask for your permission to-"

"Permission granted." Tsunade cut her off, "Contact Kakashi, Gai and Asuma to find out of they are close by. But only that! After they know, they _have _to return to the village immediately!"

"H-hey, what's going on?!" Naruto asked bewildered. He understood nothing of the whole conversation. It was like they talked in Chinese or something.

Tsunade looked at Naruto, hesitating if she should tell him or not.

Tsunade sighed, 'We can't hide it for long. He has a right to know. He has to know.' She thought and stood up, walking from behind her desk, towards Naruto and Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama..."

"Naruto, what I'm going to tell you... You have to keep it a secret for the village, you understand that? That's also the job of a shinobi."

Naruto nodded, but didn't say anything else, afraid that he might miss something she said.

"Naruto, the Akatsuki is coming."

"A-akatsuki?" Naruto replied, 'Where have I heard that name before...?'

As if Tsunade could hear his thoughts, she replied, "Akatsuki is a criminal group of strong Shinobi, trying to take over the world, by taking the tailed beasts from their owners. They've already taken 2 of them..."

"That's right!" Naruto gasped, remembering the story that was once told by him by Jiraiya and another time he faced them himself. "Sasuke's brother... is one of them..."

He remembered now; they attacked him, trying to steal Kyuubi out of his body, by killing him.

"How could I forget..." He whispered to himself.

His head suddenly shot up, "Wait, they're here?!" Naruto almost yelled.

"No, not yet, but they are close, and Konoha is one of their stops."

It's was quiet for a while, until Tsunade's head turned towards Shizune, who was also still standing there.

"Shizune, what are you waiting for?! I gave you an order!"

"Ah, Tsunade-sama..." Shizune said, almost afraid to bring out anything else. She continued anyway, "Some of the citizens have reported a light earthquake just outside the Konoha gates. But we heard nothing from the guards there."

'So I was right... That could only be...' Tsunade thought. "Alright, thank you, Shizune."

"Sir!" Shizune said as she quickly walked out of the room.

Tsunade turned to Naruto, "Naruto, I want you to check that out."

"Huh? Why me?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

"Because that earthquake... is possible created by Sakura."

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto looked at Tsunade with big eyes. "How do you know that, Tsunade-obaachan?!"

"I teach her. I know her punches and her strength. Now go, Naruto! She might be in danger!" Tsunade ordered and Naruto quickly sped out the room.

"Sakura... what are you doing?" Tsunade whispered as she looked out of the window again.

* * *

"T-the person you hate most...?" Sakura stuttered.

"The person who came here before..." Sasuke continued.

"Akatsuki..." Sakura whispered.

"Yes," Sasuke replied, "but only the man I hate most and his companion. There are no other Akatsuki members with them."

"Wait, you mean the exact same people are coming here just like before?"

"Yes..." Sasuke said again.

Sakura's face when from shocked to angry, "Why are you telling me this?! Why should I trust you?!"

"Why else would I have invited you here?"

This made Sakura stay quiet, only a low growl escape from her throat.

"Just pass the message on..." He started to walk towards her again.

"W-why are you doing this? Why are you helping? You are the one that hurt Naruto, you are the one that hurt me!" Sakura said, feeling that she was beginning to get red around her eyes.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!'

Sasuke stopped, now only a arm length away from her. "Like I said, I'm here to warn you."

"You are our... enemy." Her voice started to break at the last word.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!'

"That's why I warn you. I want to defeat Naruto for myself. I want to defeat Uchiha Itachi for myself. Naruto can't win against Itachi, but he can escape from him. Itachi will win against Naruto, and will stay alive for me to kill him." He replied coolly.

"I don't..." Sakura couldn't finsih her sentence.

"You don't have to, just pass on the message. I don't care if they know I went to you. Just tell them everything I've told you."

"You can help us... fight Itachi..." Somehow, there was still some hope in her that he would come back, even though she was angry at him.

"No." He simply replied and then disappeared in front of her.

The wind blew again, making her shiver.

"I will have my revenge on my brother and I will defeat Naruto."

It was the same as when he left. He stood behind her again, the wind was blowing again. Only now, she didn't had tears streaming down her face. Only now, he didn't left the team. Only now, she didn't tried to stop him.

"Naruto is not going to lose from you." She whispered, knowing that he heard her.

She could hear a slight chuckle coming from him. "Just enjoy your time with him while you still can, cherry blossom."

"When that time comes, I will fight you as well."

"I'm looking forward to it..." And as Sasuke said that, he hit her in the neck, making her lose consciousness.

It was for the best this way; she knew which side she would pick.

"Naruto..." She whispered as she fell on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Yaaaaaaaaay! Chapter 23 is done! Now, I have to warn you: I have to go to school again this week. I hope I can still upload... erm... once in 4 weeks but please, if it takes too long, just... erm... have faith in me! I will never abandon this fic, and I'm going to finish it!

Thank you so much for reading and please review!


	24. The Thing You Must Do

Hello hello! It's me! I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter. I'm just really busy at the moment ;

Let us continue!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Talking: "..."

Thinking: '...'

* * *

**Chapter 24: The Thing You Must Do**

"Ugh.. where am I?" Sakura asked when she slowly opened her eyes. She carefully looked around, it was morning already, noticing she was laying on a bed and that she'd seen this room before...

"Sakura-chan!" A joyful cry came from her right.

Sakura gave a soft smile, "Naruto.."

Naruto came sitting next to her with a big smile on his face, with both relief and happiness.

Sakura tried to move a bit but a sudden flow of pain went through her neck. She immediately grabbed it and hissed.

"Sakura-chan! W-what's wrong?! Are you hurt? Did you hurt yourself?" Naruto asked, moving closer to Sakura.

"Mh, no, I'm fine, Naruto." She shook her head and released her neck. She looked up to Naruto. "Naruto, what happened?"

Naruto looked at her with a confused face. "You tell me, Sakura-chan. I was at Tsunade-obaachan's place when there was an earthquake. She told me it was yours so I had to go look for you. Next thing I know I found you, passed out in front of the main gate!"

Now she remembered. "Shit..." Sakura muttered and fell down backwards on the bed. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said with a voice that was just above a whisper. Sakura opened her eyes and saw Naruto's face close to hers.

She blushed, but somehow, it gave her a soothing feeling to see his big, blue eyes. They both stayed in this position.

"Sakura-chan... Tell me what happened..." Naruto said in a soothing, yet serious voice.

She had to tell him. She just couldn't lie to him anymore. She took a deep breath; "I saw Sasuke yesterday night..."

"W-what..?" Naruto asked, shocked.

Sakura looked away and closed her eyes, not being able too look into his honest and pure eyes. "I saw Sasuke," She repeated. "I met up with Sasuke."

"Sakura-cha-"

"I'm sorry!" Sakura blurted out, "I'm so sorry, Naruto! I should have told you, but I just didn't want to involve you in it. I'm so sorry..." Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall.

She suddenly felt a finger gently wiping away her tears. Before she could look up, the hand disappeared and two hands grabbed her shoulders, quickly moving her towards the warm body of the warm boy.

Naruto hugged Sakura close, "Sakura-chan... Promise me, promise me you'll never do something like that again! You should have told me! Sasuke... I wanted to see him too!"

Sakura hugged him back, "I'm so sorry, Naruto..." She said again and her voice began to tremble, "But I was certain that you wouldn't let me go. And I wanted to prove to myself that.. I wasn't scared... That I wasn't the weak girl I was when he left!"

Naruto gently pulled himself away from Sakura, wiping the remaining tears away from her eyes. He smiled softly at her; "Sakura-chan... Of course I wouldn't let you go to him _alone_, I wanted to come with you. And in my eyes, you are defiantly not weak. You are the strongest kunoichi I've ever met."

"Aside from Hogake-sama." Sakura giggled.

Naruto smiled as he saw that Sakura seemed to be a bit more happier. "Yeah, but she's just creepy." Naruto said as he gave a shudder after it, making Sakura laugh.

Sakura stopped laughing as she grabbed both Naruto's hands, giving them a slight squeeze; "Naruto, thank you. I feel better now."

"No problem, Sakura-chan. I would do anything for you." Naruto said, his gaze never leaving her eyes.

Sakura blushed by that statement, "Y-you mean that...?"

Naruto's face began to close in and Sakura didn't move an inch. "Yeah..." Naruto whispered, not really focusing on anything else except Sakura's emerald eyes.

Naruto's heart was beating fast; he thought Sakura could hear it, but she didn't. He came closer to her, and Sakura slowly closed her eyes.

'Finally, no one to interrupt, no one to come in between. Just me and Sakura-chan...' Naruto thought as he also closed his eyes.

They both reached in, their lips almost touching.

A knock.

"Oi, Naruto... You left your window open. I have a message for you from-" Shikamaru stood on Naruto's roof, his head popping through the open window.

Sakura and Naruto stopped, but didn't move away. Their eyes were big, as they looked at Shikamaru, who's eyes were... bored.

"Yeah, ok, what were you two doing?" Shikamaru asked, looking at the two.

Sakura quickly shoved Naruto aside so that he fell off the bed, landing with a big 'thud'. Sakura laughed nervously. "Ha-ha, Shikamaru. What, uh, what brings you here?"

Naruto slowly stood up, his hand rubbing his head; apparently he landed on his head.

Shikamaru looked at the two; first at Sakura, then at Naruto. He gave a big sigh while closing his eyes. "How troublesome.." Shikamaru said and opened his eyes again, his face all serious.

"I've got orders from the Hokage to bring you two to her. Seems like she wants to talk to you two."

Naruto stopped rubbing his head and looked at Sakura, who looked at him. She stood up and they both nodded. They both went through the window and landed next to Shikamaru, who just stood still.

"Aren't you coming with us, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked as Shikamaru didn't follow them.

Shikamaru shrugged, "Naw, although my orders were to bring you to her, I can't see why you can't do that on your own. Besides, it's too troublesome."

"Oh, okay, Shikamaru, thanks anyway!" Naruto said and began to sprint towards Tsunade's office, having Sakura right behind him.

- At the Hokage's office -

Naruto and Sakura were walking in the hallway on their way to Tsunade's office.

"Naruto... I think I have an idea what this is about..." Sakura said, but you could see she was still pondering.

"Mh? What is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, you know, when I met up with Sasuke, he told me-" But Sakura was interrupted by Shizune.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, Tsunade-sama is waiting for you." Shizune said with a small smile on her face. She had a few documents is her hands, which were probably for Tsunade.

"Thank you, Shizune." Sakura said as they entered the office. Strangely enough, the door was already open.

"Excuse us, Hokage-sama..." Sakura said as she and Naruto stood in the doorway, waiting for Tsunade's approval to come in.

Tsunade was looking outside, not turning around when Sakura and Naruto stood there.

"Ah yes, come in, you two." Tsunade said, still not turning around.

Naruto and Sakura entered the office with Shizune following them and closing the door.

"You wanted to speak with us, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Tsunade said and turned around to face the two. "I'll just come straight to the point and ask you the first question." She looked at Sakura.

"Sakura... Is it true that you've met Sasuke?"

Sakura didn't flinch when she asked that, because somehow, she knew that Tsunade would find out sooner than she would expect.

"Yes."

"He invited you?"

"Yes, he wanted to warn me."

"About the Akatsuki members that are coming to Konoha?"

This took Sakura a bit off guard, "How did you know, Hokage-sama?"

"Because I've got a message from Gaara of the Sand Village about their arrival."

"So, it is true..." Sakura said, looking down.

"We have no time to waste. They want Naruto's Kyuubi... again."

This made Naruto angry, "Argh! Why do they want me?!"

"It's not _you_ they want, Naruto." Tsunade said, "It's the Kyuubi that's _inside_ you. That's what they want."

"Then they can have it! This... _thing_ inside me has caused me nothing but trouble and... pain..." Naruto said. At the end of his sentence, he looked at Sakura, who looked at him.

She knew it wasn't his fault that he attacked her while being at the festival, but she also knew _he_ still thought it was his fault. She grabbed his hand and softly squeezing, as if she wanted to tell him that everything will be alright. He gave a slight smile and turned his head back to Tsunade.

"Naruto... you do realize that when you 'give' them the Kyuubi, they will be very powerful, unable to be stopped, right?" Tsunade continued.

"Y-yeah, but I-" But Naruto was cut off.

"And do you realize," Tsunade continued, "that when you 'give' them the Kyuubi... you _will_ die?"

Naruto and Sakura gasped at the same time. Sakura squeezed Naruto's hand a little harder, but both of them didn't realized it.

A drop of sweat ran down his face, "I... die? But... but how?"

Tsunade closed her eyes, "The Kyuubi became your life. But it is also when you die, he dies as well. But it's exactly the same the other way around, you should've known that. That is why, Naruto, you must fight them."

"But Tsunade-obaachan! You _know_ what happened last time they were here! I wasn't strong enough! I-"

Tsunade interrupted him, "That's why I want you to train. I want you to train really hard. And I want you to train together with Sakura."

"But when will they arrive, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked, still holding Naruto's hand.

Tsunade gave a sigh, "We don't know that, yet. I think they are buying us some time, so that you, Naruto, can train and fight them."

"But... who's gonna train us..?" Sakura asked.

"Unfortunately, Jiraiya isn't available and neither is Kakashi." Tsunade stood up, walking towards the two.

Shizune gave a nervous grin that Naruto and Sakura couldn't see.

"So that means...?" They both said at the same time, and feared what Tsunade was going to do.

Tsunade made a wide grin, "Yes, I will train you!"

* * *

Well, that was it for chapter 24! Oh noes, Kisame and Itachi will be here 0o We are all doomed!

But then again, Tsunade training BOTH Naruto and Sakura is going to be fun! (has evil plans)

I hope you liked it and please reaview!


	25. Training

Everyone! It's snowing! It's finally snowing! I'm so happy right now!

Yes, if you haven't noticed already, I love snow :D

Thank you all so much for waiting! I really, really appreciate it!

Let us continue!

* * *

**Chapter 25: Training**

"Where the hell is Tsunade-obaachan?!" Naruto almost yelled while holding his arms up in he air.

"Calm down, Naruto... She will come, she promised, right?" Sakura said calmly to him, while sitting on the ground with her back against a fence.

"But she's two hours late!" Naruto continued.

It's true; Tsunade had asked them both to go to the old training ground where Naruto and Sakura used to train with Kakashi and Sasuke. She asked them to be there before the sun was up.

Which it was, two hours ago.

Sakura smiled a bit, "You can't really blame her, Naruto. She _is_ Hokage, after all."

"But she promised...!" Naruto said, slowly sitting next to Sakura, suddenly feeling tired.

"Don't let your guard down, Naruto. She can easily do-"

But before Sakura could finish, the ground began to shake and huge pieces of rock came toward Naruto and Sakura with high speed. They quickly dodged the attack by jumping up.

Naruto grinned, "Heh, a surprise attack huh? That won't work on-"

"Too slow!" Tsunade suddenly appeared behind Naruto in the air, giving him a blow with her right fist in the back, causing Naruto to fall down quickly.

"Argh!" Naruto yelled and he could, just before he hit the ground, get a hold of himself and land on the ground with a loud 'bang'.

Tsunade also landed on the ground, only to be surprised by one of her own attacks, made by Sakura.

Sakura punched hard into the ground, but not to cause any rock slides or enormous cracks in the ground. No, her attack was almost invisible until it actually reached the target. When it reached the target, a huge circle formed around it, causing the ground to cave in immediately, making the target fall into a deep hole, which wasn't easy to come out of.

The circle around Tsunade was already formed and the ground started to cave in. Tsunade quickly jumped up, grinning. She grinned because it was easy for her to dodge, but she also grinned because her student managed to do an attack like that.

Naruto saw it all; "Wow, Sakura-chan! That was amazing!"

But Sakura didn't wanted any compliments, "No time for that Naruto! Now come and help me!"

Because she knew she couldn't do this alone.

"R-right!" But before Naruto could do one step, a rock came from the ground below him, throwing him up in the air.

"Argh! Tsunade-obaachannn! You're doing this on purposeee!" Naruto yelled as he went up, and came down again.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she saw Naruto go, but she didn't paid any attention anymore to her surroundings.

'That's something I have to learn them...' Tsunade thought as she came behind Sakura. But before Sakura could turn around and defend herself, Tsunade grabbed her left arm and held it tightly behind her back, so that she couldn't move.

"Ugh!" Sakura yelped as Tsunade held her tighter.

"M-master... It hurts..." Sakura whispered as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to get loose, but she couldn't because of the tight grip. Somehow, she felt like all her strength was being sucked out of her.

"Do you think the Akatsuki will show you mercy as well when you are in a situation like this?!" Tsunade yelled as she let go of Sakura.

Sakura ribbed her wrist as she tuned around to face Tsunade.

"Sakura, that technique you just used needs some work on the speed and the strength. But you performed it pretty well. I'm proud that you learned it so well and so quickly."

Sakura's face brightened, "Thank you, Master!"

"On the other side..." Tsunade trailed off as she looked at her right, seeing something orange coming their way at high speed.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" Naruto came screaming like there was a fire somewhere.

Sakura sighed, "Oh, Naruto..."

Naruto finally arrived at Sakura's side, "Sakura-chan, are you alright? She didn't hurt you that badly, right? I mean, she _is_ an old monster after a-"

TOINK!

"Owwww! That hurt, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto said as both his hand went up on top of his head.

"Naruto! Stop this childish act! You have to get serious right now!" Tsunade said angrily.

"I am serious..." Naruto muttered sofly, one hand still ribbing the top of his head, which was showing a tiny bump.

"Then let's get straight to business." Tsunade said, which caught both Sakura and Naruto's attention.

"First, the surprise attack I made." Tsunade said, holding up one finger. Sakura and Naruto nodded.

"Naruto, your defense was just worthless. If Akatsuki would make such and surprise attack, you would be already dead. Same goes for you, Sakura. Although your reaction and counter attack was much better then Naruto's." Tsunade explained. Naruto was getting annoyed and Sakura nodded seriously.

"Next, the counter attacks." Tsunade continued, now holding two fingers in the air. She gave a stern gaze at Naruto, who gulped. "Naruto... You may be known as the 'surprise ninja' around here, but I haven't seen any surprises from you. I could easily kill you. You haven't shown me _any_ counter attacks, not even attempts!"

"That... that's because you-" Naruto began, but was cut off by Tsunade.

"Because I did a surprise attack and was much faster then you in the air? Don't make such excuses, Naruto. I know... I know you can do much better." Tsunade said, still not looking away from Naruto.

"Moving on, the final and most important point I made out from our short fight," The third finger joined the other two.

Naruto and Sakura didn't say anything, they didn't even blink.

"Teamwork." Tsunade said, being very serious.

"Team...work...?" Sakura repeated softly.

"I'm sure Kakashi learned you this; it's the key to victory in most battles. But I didn't see any of it. Not even an attempt of."

Sakura looked at the ground; it's true. To tell the truth, they haven't been working together ever since Sasuke left the team. They haven't worked together when they saved Sakura from Orochimaru.

Naruto did all the work.

'I... was once again helpless... I couldn't have then, I couldn't help now.' Her thoughts were interrupted as Tsunade continued.

"Sakura did almost every attack today, Naruto. While you were goofing off being busy with my attacks. You should have dodged them and be stronger. You should've helped Sa-" But Tsunade was interrupted by Sakura.

"That's not true, Master!"

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto was actually surprised by her sudden outburst.

Sakura continued, "He... saved me so many times! If it wasn't for Naruto... I wouldn't be here right now!"

'Sakura-chan...' Naruto thought as he blushed slightly.

Tsunade closed her eyes, "I know, Sakura. But I'm talking about _today_. I'm not talking about yesterday or last week. I know what he is capable off. It were those things that I _missed_ today."

Naruto blushed even more, 'T-Tsunade-obaachan...'

Tsunade coughed, "Well, are we ready to train, my students?"

"Yes, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto piped up, his blush disappearing.

"Yes, Master!" Sakura also said, feeling the strength returning to her, ready to train 'till she dropped.

Tsunade softly smiled, "Then let's get started!"

**

* * *

**Yes, not such a long chapter. But you gotta understand that I'm really busy right now with homework, internship and even personal life! (gasp)

Well, I still hope you liked this chapter and... wait... will the Akatsuki even come here?! (gasp again)

Review please!


	26. Silence Before the Storm

Hey everyone! Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! Did you had a good Christmas? Did you had a wonderful new year? I did, and I'm glad you are sticking with me! ^^

Let's continue, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Talking: "...."

Thinking: '....'

* * *

**Chapter 26: Silence Before the Storm.**

"Good, good, Naruto! Mark your defense!" Tsunade yelled as she began to attack Naruto.

"You know I'm all about attacking, Obaachan!" Naruto remarked with a smirk and jumped back.

Tsunade smirked as well; "Don't be so confident yet, punk!" Suddenly, Tsunade disappeared from sight and Naruto was looking around him, searching for Tsunade.

Except above.

Tsunade appeared again above Naruto, ready to punch him above the head, burying him in the ground.

But Tsunade suddenly saw a blur of pink and red in the corner of her eye. Just in time, Tsunade dodged Sakura's punch attack by putting extra chakra into her feet which quickly send her down.

"Very nice, Sakura!"

Naruto looking up to see Tsunade dodging Sakura's quick attack. He smiled his big smile; "Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto! Look before you!" Sakura called from the air, as Tsunade gave Naruto a quick punch in the stomach, which send him flying over, hitting a nearby tree.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she followed Naruto's flying body towards the trees. Concentrating on Naruto, she didn't noticed Tsunade was coming at her at great speed.

"Stop daydreaming, Sakura! Concentrate!" But before Sakura could defend herself, Tsunade had already gotten closer to her, and kicked Sakura in her right hip, which also sent Sakura flying.

Luckily, Sakura was able to stop herself before hitting something, and did a flip backwards so that she laned on her feet. Her hand was placed on her right hip.

"That was... Harsh... Master..." Sakura said between gasps.

But Tsunade didn't had mercy for anyone. "That is your own fault, Sakura. Stop paying attention to your teammate all the time. You _knew_ he was fine, so why did you put all your concentration on him? Why was it that you suddenly didn't sense my chakra anymore while it was so easy to feel that I was right there?"

Sakura looked down as her hand let go of her hip and was placed next to her body. "I... I don't know..." Sakura softly said as she shook her head.

At that moment, Naruto came running towards the two. "Sakura-chan! Are you alright? Are you hurt?!" Naruto asked as he stood right before Sakura.

"I'm fine, Naruto!" Sakura snapped at him from frustration, but she immediately regretted it and looked down again.

Tsunade sighed before she talked again; "You two are getting better and better in teamwork and defending each other. Your attacks are getting stronger and much better than in the first training. Although we only had a week, I see some improvement. But... I must honestly say of this will be enough. We figured out the Akatsuki members, Itachi and Kisame, will be here in two days."

This news made Naruto and Sakura gulp together.

Tsunade continued, "But you two need to work on your concentration. Even though you are a team, you must thing about yourself too. That is the way of the ninja, to show no emotions such like worry." Tsunade looked at Sakura while saying this. "You also mustn't get too overexcited and blurry your surroundings with it." With this sentence, she looked at Naruto, who was heavily nodding his head 'yes'.

"Even though I and Jiraiya will aid you in this most-likely battle..." But Tsunade was cut off.

"Most-likely...?" Sakura asked. "Do you mean that there maybe won't be a fight at all?"

"I don't know, Sakura, I honestly don't." Tsunade said, looking at her. "We don't know what they are after. The only thing we know is that they are after Naruto's Kyuubi, but is that really their objective? What do they plan to do more? Will they destroy the village...? As fifth hokage, I cannot let that happen. I will protect this village, even if I will lose my life with it."

Sakura nodded, "We know, master."

Naruto showed his trademark grin again, "And we will help you with it!" Naruto shifted his right feet. "But, after that, you will have to make me the sixth hogake!"

Tsunade suddenly lifted her fist and gave Naruto an punch on the head, creating a bump. "Don't bet on it, kid!"

This made Sakura giggle. It were simple and tiny things like this that made her feel really happy to live like this, even though there is always danger lurking in the shadows.

Tsunade coughed and stood straight. "So, tomorrow, I'm giving you two a day off. Even ninja's have to relax. Besides, I can't Shizune do _all_ my work for me." Tsunade giggled, thinking about poor Shizune was stressing out over the pile of paper work Tsunade left behind.

Naruto rubbed his bump on his head and slightly turned his head to the left, "Tsunade-obaachan is really scary when she giggles..." He whispered, but Tsunade hear everything.

"You want another one, punk?!" She said as she held her fist up high.

"Uhm, no thanks, Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto said as he ran off, since training was over for the day. "Thanks for the day off, obaachan!" Naruto yelled with a big grin as he waved goodbye. He was already out of sight in a matter of seconds.

'Probably getting some ramen...' Sakura thought to herself with a little smile.

She could hear Tsunade sigh next to her, "Oh, that boy..." But Sakura noticed a tiny smile that even Tsunade couldn't hide.

"Uhm, master...? Is it really ok for us to take the day off tomorrow?" Sakura asked, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes. Believe it or not, even ninja's need some time to relax before a big battle comes up. And I have a lot of work to to." Tsunade sighed after her last sentence.

"Does Jiraiya-sama knows about this..?" Sakura asked further.

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, I contacted him three days ago. He was training," She shook her head. "or whatever he called it, and is coming home right now. He should be here tomorrow night."

"I hope we... can protect the village." Sakura said, bending her head down again.

Tsunade looked at Sakura with shock in her eyes. "Are you doubting, Sakura?"

"N-no, master... I just... I think that..." Sakura trailed off, not finding the right words for some reason.

"Your afraid last time will repeat itself?" Tsunade asked.

That's right; when Sakura was captured by Orochimaru and took her to his lair, she met Sasuke, but he wasn't doing anything to help her, even though she fell ill due to the drugs she constantly got injected. But Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade came to her rescue, in which Naruto almost lost his life.

Sakura never wants to feel the pain and loneliness the felt back then ever again. She really thought she lost him.

"Nicer again..." Sakura whispered.

"It won't happen again, Sakura." Tsunade said, making Sakura snap her head up. "Naruto is strong, and so are you. You two are now able to help each other and protect each other." Sakura nodded when she heard this, and this gave her a bit of confidence.

"But," Tsunade continued. "I sensed you are still feeling troubled about your feelings for Naruto, am I right?"

Sakura looked a bit shocked at Tsunade; was it _that_ obvious what she was thinking?

Sakura answered, "Well... I don't know... Maybe... But after he almost died... I never want to lose him again, I want him close to me, I also want him to protect me... I don't know, I just want everything from him! But... It feels so different from when I had a crush on Sasuke. Back then, I thought _that_ was love. But then why does this feels so different...?"

Tears were starting to well up in Sakura's eyes as she became more confused the more she thought about it.

Tsunade moved in front of her and gently placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "The reason why this feels so different is because Naruto is different from Sasuke."

This caught Sakura off guard, "Huh...?"

"Well, think about it. Naruto always thought of you, right? He gave you his silent love, even though it was not always silent..." Tsunade quickly shook her head. "He was there for you when you needed him, even though you yourself thought you never needed him. he didn't wanted your attention just to beat Sasuke, right? He stayed with you even when Sasuke left. That's a lot different from Sasuke, isn't it?"

Sakura slowly nodded, and slightly blushed when she thought about all the 'silent' moments she had with Naruto. He was never sick of her, he was never annoyed with her. He stayed by her side.

"Well?" Tsunade asked, "What do you think, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at Tsunade, still a slight blush on her face. "Master... I... I think I l-" But Sakura was cut off.

"Hokage-sama!" A jounin came out of nowhere and appeared at Tsunade's side with one knee on the ground and his head slightly bowed.

"What is it...?" Tsunade asked as she let go of Sakura and faced the jounin.

"Ah, hogake-sama.... A message from Shizune-san. She said it was important." The jounin seemed quite uncomfortable to bring her this message. He handed Tsunade the letter.

After Tsunade read it, she sighed; "It seems like Shizune can't take it anymore. I'm sorry Sakura, but I have to leave."

Sakura smiled, "Of course, Master, I understand."

Tsunade looked at Sakura and walked towards her. She bent down to whisper something in her ear. "Tell you what," Tsunade whispered. "go on a date with Naruto. Maybe this will clear up your feelings."

Sakura blushed again when she heard this. "M-master!"

"See you later, Sakura. I'll let you know when we will continue our training." Tsunade said with a wink as she dissapeared from sight.

Sakura sighed her blush away, "I first should go home to take a bath. After that, I should pray at the shinobi altar." Sakura said to herself as she also disappeared with a gust of wind.

**-Later that Day-**

Somewhere in the village, there is an altar placed, which symbolizes the many shinobi who died during the attack of the nine-tailed fox or just to protect the village. It is made from a huge rock, neatly crafted, and standing on thick plate also made of rock. But from the top, it looks like a sun clock. Next to it stands a flag pole, with a white flag attached to it. The grounds were also often being used as a training ground for beginning Genin.

Even though Sakura didn't came here much, She sometimes felt she had to. So when she came, she prayed for the safety of the village and her friends.

Sakura had her hair in a ponytail and she had a red shirt with white, short sleeves on. She had gher purple skirt on with green knee length shorts underneath it. Just the clothes she felt comfortable in when she didn't had to train or to go to a mission.

Sakura kneeled down before the altar, closing her eyes and clasping her hands together. The wind slightly moved her hair, but it wasn't cold.

"I knew I would find you here." A familiar, kind of hoarse, voice said. She knew he was saying it with a smile on his face.

Sakura finished her prayer and opened her eyes again. She stood up, and turned around, seeing Naruto standing there.

She smiled as well, as she saw his blue eyes laughing playfully at her. "How did you guess?" Sakura asked him, as another breeze came by.

The wind seemed to play with Naruto's golden locks as they slightly moved around. She noticed he didn't had his headband on, which was rare for Naruto.

"Where's your headband?" Sakura asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

Naruto shrugged and walked towards her, "I guess I forgot."

Sakura giggled a bit, "You? Forgot? That's rare, even for y-" But Sakura couldn't finish her sentence, as Naruto held her in a tight embrace.

She had to admit, it felt pretty good being in his arms again.

It was so quiet around him, almost like the whole village was on vacation. Sakura's heart began to beat faster and harder, but she very much liked this.

But she had to ask; " Naruto...? What's wrong?" Automatically, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back.

"Nothing... I just... Wanted to hold you without getting punched..." Naruto said as he closed his eyes.

Sakura blushed, "Oh... Ok..." Sakura laid her head on his chest, as it seemed that Naruto grew a few inches once again in these past few weeks.

"Sakura-chan...?" Naruto almost whispered.

"Mh?" Sakura also whispered.

They both didn't move; they liked the position they were in.

"Do you like ramen..?"

Sakura giggled, "Yes, I like ramen, Naruto."

Naruto also let out a tiny laugh but both of them didn't move.

"Naruto...?" It was Sakura this time.

"Mh...?" Naruto answered.

"I like this..."

Naruto held her tighter. "Me too..."

It was quiet once again, and the only thing Sakura could hear, was Naruto's heartbeat. Oh, how glad she was to hear his heartbeat.

Naruto spoke up again, "Sakura-chan...?"

"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura said, smiling.

"Would you like to go out with me..?" Sakura could hear Naruto's heart beat faster after he asked this.

Sakura pushed herself away slightly to look into Naruto gorgeous blue eyes. She smiled; "I'd love to, Naruto."

After hearing this, Naruto's smiled went wider and his eyes sparkled more than before. It was like a kid who got candy from his mother.

"Tomorrow? On our day off?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sakura giggled. It was like he still thought she would reject him. "Yes, I would love to, Naruto." Sakura repeated.

In his joy, Naruto quickly gave Sakura a peck on the forehead and let her go. "Thank you, Sakura-chan! I- I gotta go! Gotta get ready! I'll let you know on what we are gonna do! Don't worry, I'll arrange everything!" Naruto happily said as she ran away, happy as a little schoolgirl.

"I hope he realizes the date's _tomorrow_ and not today." Sakura giggled, and also blushed. She could feel her heartbeat quicken again.

'I can't wait until tomorrow!'

* * *

Yes, and tomorrow is for you in a few months! Hahahahaha! Nah, just kidding, but I can't promise anything. I'll update as soon as possible, but... I'm busy _ And that sucks so bad! Anyway, should they kiss on their second date? :P

Review please!


	27. Elias' Love

Hello everyone!

…..

I'm sorry I've been absent for a long time, but let's just say that it's school's fault! Yeah, I'm really sorry, but I'm glad your sticking with me! That makes me happy *sniff*

Let us continue!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

* * *

**Chapter 27: Elias' Love**

Naruto was getting ready for his date with Sakura. And to tell you the truth, he was quite nervous. There was one thing he wanted to do tonight, something that might or might not change their lives forever.

He wanted to confess to her.

He wondered if she already knew. They have been giving each other hints, or at least, Naruto did. Especially after that whole Orchimaru thing. Well, at least Naruto was certain of his feelings. He loves Sakura, and he always has done ever since they were just young and inexperienced Genin.

"This date... is the most important date ever." Naruto said to himself, as he put on his orange and black jacket, with underneath a black t-shirt. His pants were long and sort of baggy, with dark blue as colour.

"I can't wear orange all the time." Naruto said again to himself as he lay his Konoha headband down on his night drawer.

Then one thing struck to his mind: How was he going to confess to her? What would be a good timing? Even though Naruto was known as the most unexpected and surprising ninja, he didn't wanted to mess this one up, not by a long shot.

Naruto looked at the time; 5 o'clock. He was going to pick Sakura up at 7, so he still had some time left. He grabbed his headband and put it on again. He dashed outside, towards the market place. He was bound to get some idea's there, right?

**-Marketplace-**

"Ok... but how am I gonna find something?" Naruto pondered as he walked down the long path with stores at both sides.

There were a lot of people; most of them did some groceries for tonight's dinner. Naruto stopped at a flower shop, which seemed familiar to him.

"Mh, maybe I can find something good here." Naruto said as he stepped inside. He could smell the different kind of aroma's coming from the many flowers that were in the shop. There were some beautiful flowers, with many different colors.

'What should I pick...? Roses..? Tulip's? Forget-me-not's?' Naruto laughed slightly at his thoughts.

'Man, this is hard.' Naruto scratched his head while being in deep thoughts.

"Welcome! I'm sorry for the wai- Aaah! Naruto!" A voice came booming from behind Naruto. Naruto turned around to see who it was.

"Ack, Ino!" Naruto almost yelled, as he almost bumped over a vase full of different flowers. 'Crap,' Naruto cursed to himself. 'this is her family's store! Why didn't I noticed?!'

Ino put her hands on her hips; "The 'ack' wasn't really necessary, you know...?" Ino sighed.

Naruto scratched his head again with his right hand, "Ahaha, sorry Ino. You took me by surprise, that's all."

"And you call yourself a ninja?" Ino almost laughed. She quickly continued, "So, what brings you to our shop today?" She walked towards him with a small smile on her face.

Naruto froze; he didn't wanted to tell Ino he wanted to get something for Sakura so that it would set the mood for his confession. He didn't even wanted to tell him that he had a date with Sakura.

"I... uh... wrong shop?" That was the first thing that came up in Naruto's mind.

Ino stopped walking and lifted one eyebrow up, "Uhu, yeah right. Are you looking for some flowers? Or are you looking for some exotic plants? You know we have many kinds right? Do you already had one in your mind? Is it for a special occasion?"

Naruto began to stammer. So many questions at once! He didn't wanted to blow his cover. 'Play it cool, Naruto, play it cool.'

"Yeah, uh, I want some flowers for in my room. You know, to... uh, brighten some things up a bit." Naruto said. To him, it sounded totally confident.

To Ino, it wasn't.

"Yeah, right, Naruto. Like you would place our beautiful flowers in your room." She walked towards Naruto again, and stopped only a few inches before him. She had to look up, because Naruto was, after the past few years, taller than Ino.

It caught her off guard for a bit; 'Wow, he really is taller!'

Naruto continued; "N-no, it's true! Haha, I promise to take good care of it, really!"

"Mhhhh...?" Ino didn't buy it. But she decided to let it go.... for now. "Ok, did you had some flowers in mind...?" Ino asked, taking a step back.

"Ah, no, you see, I don't know anything about flowers...." Naruto honestly said.

"Then you've come to the right place!" Ino beamed, and walked over to the back of the shop where most of the flower were placed, almost glistering.

Naruto was caught off guard by Ino's sudden enthusiasm. "Uhm, Ino...? Why so helpful to me? I mean, you never are."

Ino tried not to get too angry about that last comment; "What are you talking about, Naruto? You _are_ a customer after all."

Naruto let out a sigh, 'I should have known, as long as they make any money out of it, they will be nice.'

Ino continued; "Well? See anything you like?" Ino said as she took one step aside so that Naruto could see the large amount of different flowers.

"Wow..." Naruto said. He looked at each flower. Even though they were all different flowers, each were equally beautiful. Now _that's_ hard to choose from.

There was one flower that caught his attention. Although the flower hadn't bloomed yet, it was still a tiny, single bud.

Strange; Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of it. And Ino noticed.

"Aha, so that's the flower you're interested in?"

Naruto gave a slight nod and turned to Ino. "What kind of flower is that? It hasn't bloomed yet, yet all the other flowers have. What's up with that?" He said while pointing to the little bud.

"Ah, that one..." Ino said, first looking at the flower, then slowly turning her head to look at Naruto. "That flower is a special flower."

"Why is that?"

"It is said that the flower would only bloom at night, when two lovers are one."

Naruto gulped, "L-lovers...?"

Ino nodded, "Yes, most likely it will bloom when a confession took place and both hearts are one. Plus, it will only bloom at night. I haven't seen it for myself, but I'm sure the flower is beautiful when it blooms."

"Yeah..." Naruto said, a little absent and busy looking at the flower. "What's it called?" Naruto continued asking.

Ino smiled a bit, "It's called 'Elias' Love'."

"Elias' Love...?" Naruto asked, confused by the name.

"Yes, I don't know the details, but there was once a guy named Elias. He was a knight but also a ninja. He was ferocious, slaughtered everyone who was in his way. But even he couldn't escape love. He fell in love with a maiden who was the daughter of a simple baker in town. Even though he swore on his life that he would never fall in love, he did. He couldn't deny it. The maiden, named Rosanna, also fell in love with Elias. They would meet up almost every night. One day, Elias was going to be executed because of what he once swore on his life to become a knight. But before the time was there, he met up with Rosanna for one last time. He gave her this flower." Ino picked up the flower and softly touched the bud.

She continued; "He said: 'My sweet maiden. Forgive me, for I will not be with you after tonight. Not with my body. But I will.. with my mind and soul. With this flower, I will always be with you...' He said as he gave Rosanna the flower. Once he said to her 'I love you' the flower started to bloom, a beautiful blue light emitted from the bloom, and caught Rosanna's tears. She held the flower close to her heart, and with one soft kiss on her lips, Elias was gone. The story was told for generations until today." Ino handed the flower to Naruto.

"I bet Sakura would like it very much. You should tell her the story after you have given her the flower." Ino said with a smile on her face.

Naruto nodded and took the flower from Ino. "Yeah, I bet Sakura-chan will- Hey, wait! Sakura-chan!? Who said anything about her? Hehehe, I-I want it for my room, yeah!" Naruto became flustered when he noticed that he was saying it out loud, and to who.

"Naruto!" Ino said with stern voice; she had enough of his excuses.

Naruto's blush didn't went down. "Erm.. wrong shop?"

Ino sighed, "Look, Naruto, you van just tell me. I figured most of it out. You are going on a date with Sakura, right?"

Naruto sighed as well, knowing that denying wouldn't help anymore. "Yeah..."

Ino smiled; finally, she had him. "Are you going to confess?"

Naruto nodded slowly, checking if Ino wasn't going to laugh at him. She wasn't. There was just a warm smile on her face.

"Good, good. I know you can do it, Naruto."

"What's this, Ino? Why are you suddenly so supportive?"

"Well, I think Sakura deserves to be happy. Besides, you're not my type, so I have no reason _not _to support Sakura."

"Gee, thanks, Ino..."

"So, that flower is going to be it?" Ino said, pointing at the little flower in Naruto's hand.

Naruto nodded, "Yes, please."

"Great!" Ino said, as she took the flower. She walked over to the counter. Naruto followed her.

"Because this is going to be a special night for the two of you, I'll but this little flower in a cute little bottle." Ino said, as she grabbed one of the bottles that were placed on the counter. It had a random black printing on the bottle, like you see with tattoo's.

Ino put the flower in the bottle, tightly closing the top with a cork. "Listen Naruto, you don't need to water the flower; once it has bloomed and you two stay together and be each others number one, the flower will always be healthy."

"Got it, Ino." Naruto said as he paid for the flower. "And really, thank you. I wouldn't have found this flower without your help."

"No problem Naruto." Ino said, while putting the money away in the cash register.

Naruto saw the time on the big clock behind Ino. "Argh! I only have half an hour! Bye Ino, and thanks again!" Naruto was about to run away, when Ino suddenly stopped him.

"Oh, Naruto!" Ino said as Naruto came to a halt, turning his head towards Ino. "If you break Sakura's heart, I will not forgive you!"

"I know, I know!" Naruto said as he opened quickly the door and ran towards his house, holding the bottle with Elias' Love close to him.

Ino laughed softly to herself, "Sakura is so lucky... To have a sweet and caring guy right there next to her. I hate that girl so much...." Ino said as she went to the back, not removing the smile on her face.

* * *

Yeho! Hahaha, Ino again, huh? I don't know, I really have the feeling you can talk with her about everything. Next chapter will be the date, I promise!

By the way: I made up the flower. I made the story up, too. Corny, huh? xD

Review please and once again thanks for the wait!


	28. Listen To Your Heart

Hello! Here I am again! You didn't had to wait for long this time, right? Let us continue right away! Will Naruto confess? And if he does, will Sakura accept?

Ooooh! I can't wait! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

* * *

**Chapter 28: Listen To Your Heart**

BA-DUMP BA-DUMP BA-DUMP.

'Wait, did my heart just skip a beat?!' Sakura thought as she put her hand on her chest, there were her heart was.

She was feeling nervous. And she didn't even knew why; 'I mean, it's not like I haven't gone out with Naruto before.' She couldn't just yet take the word 'date' completely in her mouth or thoughts.

Date just sounded so... like they were a couple.

Sakura let herself fall on her bed with her face facing the ceiling. She took long, sharp breaths to calm her heart from beating so fast. With no luck.

She turned her head to the left to look at her alarm clock that was standing on her night desk. It was 6 o' clock, in about an hour, Naruto was going to pick her up.

'Crap!' She quickly stood up, feeling a bit dizzy from standing up so fast. 'I still don't know what to wear!'

She practically jumped towards her closet and yanked the doors open. She could she her Genin outfit, the red, China-like dress she didn't fit anymore. But she couldn't just throw it away. She searched further.

There was a sudden knock on her door, startling Sakura. It couldn't be Naruto... Besides, if he came, it was through the window.

"Yes?" Sakura said, her voice a bit shaky from the sudden interruption.

"Sakura?" It was her mother, "Can I come in, dear?" Sakura was already confused; normally, her mother would just barge in without knocking and without asking if she can come in.

"Uhm, yeah, sure mom. Come in." Sakura said as she turned towards the door while her mother came in.

"You still don't know what to wear?" Her mother asked, slightly chuckling. Sakura blushed slightly, as she turned away from her mother and focused on getting the right outfit together.

"I remember..." Her mother began, but was cut of by Sakura.

"If it's about you and dad's first date, then save it, I already know that story." Sakura said, her back facing her mother.

"That's not what I was trying to say, Sakura. I was saying, I remember when you had your first date with Naruto and you also didn't knew what to wear." Her mother gave a slight giggle.

Sakura was more then surprised by this; she was dumbfounded by what her mother just said. Sakura slowly turned around, only to see her mother staring at her with soft eyes and a smile.

"M-mom... what are you saying?" Sakura always thought that... her mother hated Naruto. Her mother knew she was going out with Naruto this night and Sakura didn't care if she knew or not. But to be honest, last time, she didn't take it so well. She began to yell about 12 years ago and that it was all Naruto's fault and that he has brought this village nothing but bad luck.

Sakura grew angry again when she thought about that.

Her mother sighed and took a seat on Sakura's bed. "Sakura..." She began and locked her green eyes with her daughters emerald eyes. "I know you are going on a date with Naruto Uzumaki." Sakura shuffled uncomfortably when she heard the word 'date'.

Her mother continued, "And... I got something for you." For the first time her mother came in, Sakura didn't noticed the little black box her mother was carrying. Her mother stood up and walked towards Sakura, who had a confused look on her face. What was her mother planning? What was in the little black box? Handcuffs? Was she planning to stop Sakura from going o a date with Naruto?

No... the box was too _flat_ for that.

Her mother stopped before Sakura as she held the black box up. "Sakura.. I actually wanted to give this one on your first date... but since that one has already passed..." Her mother opened the box. Inside, there was a necklace with a azure blue heart with around it a silver layer to hold it together. She necklace was made of pure silver and was sure to shine in the sunlight.

Sakura gasped; the necklace was beautiful! How come she never knew her mother owned something as beautiful as this?

"Mom... Wow... This is beautiful!" Sakura couldn't stop gawking at the necklace.

Her mother smiled, "This necklace... was given to me by my mother, your grandmother, on my very first date with your father." Her mother explained.

Sakura stared at her mother, "Really? On your first date with dad? Wow!" Sakura smiled.

Her mother softly grabbed the necklace from the box and walked behind Sakura. "Even though... I didn't agree to it the last time, I can see that you care a lot about Naruto...kun. Let's just pretend this is your first date with him." Her mother put on the necklace while Sakura held away some straws from her hair.

'She called him... Naruto-kun... Maybe… Maybe mom will accept Naruto.'

"There," Sakura's mother said which pulled Sakura out of her thoughts. Her mother walked away from behind her to stand before Sakura. Her mother gasped and clasped her hand together in delight.

"Oh, Sakura, honey! You look great! It matches your eyes, lovely." Sakura blushed and turned away to look at herself in the mirror.

The necklace was indeed beautiful, but Sakura wasn't sure if she deserved it. She would probably make the necklace look weird on her or even ugly. She slightly touched the azure blue heart and was once again lost in thoughts.

What would Naruto think about it?

Her mother slightly touched her shoulders from behind, and Sakura could see in the reflection that her mother was smiling.

Sakura turned around. "I don't get it mom, why the sudden change of heart?" That was something she still didn't get.

Her mother sighed and let go of her shoulders, "I was wrong. Sakura, I should trust you more. And since you know Naruto much better then I do, then who am I to judge? But you must understand that I wanted to protect you Sakura. You know that, right?"

Sakura nodded, "Of course, mom. I mean, I guess we are both stubborn, huh?" Sakura laughed, glad that her mother was giving Naruto another chance.

Sakura's mother was laughing as well. "Yeah, you can say that again. And Sakura?"

"Yes, mom?"

"I would love to meet Naruto-kun when he comes to pick you up."

Sakura gasped, "Really, mom?! Oh, I'm so glad!" Sakura jumped into her mother's arms to give her a hug. Her mother laughed and gave her a hug back.

She suddenly gasped, "Oh, honey! Shouldn't you pick your outfit? It's already 6:30!"

Sakura gasped as well and jumped away from her mother and practically dived into her closet. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! I will never make it in time! Naruto is going to be here in half an hour!"

Her mother stood next to her, "Don't worry, dear. I'm going to help you picking the perfect outfit."

* * *

DING-DONG.

A couple of feet were quickly running down the stairs and towards the door. Just before opening, she quickly fixed her hair by giving it a few hand strokes on her bangs.

She opened the door and behind it stood a young man with blond hair and 6 'whiskers', each cheek had 3 of them, on his cheeks. He had his black and orange jacket on with underneath a black T-shirt. His pants were long and sort of baggy, with dark blue as color.

Sakura really liked how her looked. Naruto can defiantly pull this look off.

"Hi, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, a slight blush noticeable on his cheeks.

"Hi, Naruto." Sakura greeted back, not being able to hold back the giggle from seeing his blush.

It was quiet for a while, until Naruto was able to speak again, "Sakura-chan... You look... You look..." What was the right word for it? "Beautiful..." He almost whispered. He couldn't think of anything else to say other than that, but it worked too.

"Thank you, Naruto. You look really good too." Naruto had her hair in a ponytail for a chance, as it seemed that it was going to be a sultry night, and Sakura hated it when she had her hair loose on these kind of warm days. But, it was almost summer, so she couldn't blame anybody.

She had a light green top on with the short sleeves hanging on her upper arms. Her top was long and ended slightly over her bottom. She wore black, wide pants, which were made for the summer. They were wide at the bottom, but she flipped the legs one time and now the end of her pants where just a little bit from the ground.

And of course, she wore the necklace her mother gave her. Naruto noticed it almost immediately.

"Wow, Sakura-chan. That's a beautiful necklace!" Naruto said, as he slightly touched it.

"Thank you, Naruto. Actually, it was given to me from-"

"I gave the necklace to her." A voice came from behind Sakura. Her mother walked towards the two as Sakura took a step to the side so that Naruto could see her as well.

Sakura looked at him, and she saw that he was sweating bullets.

"So," Her mother said in a very stern voice. "you are Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto stood there, stiff as a board. "Y-yes, ma'am!"

"And you are going to take my daughter out on a date?" She asked, her voice just as stern.

Naruto couldn't move, "Y-yes, ma'am!"

Suddenly, Sakura's mother reached out to Naruto with full speed, so as an instinct, Naruto closed his eyes and prepared for the blow.

But nothing came.

Instead, he could feel a warm hand on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes to see what have happened.

He saw Sakura's mother, smiling a soft smile, and patting him on the shoulder.

"Huh...?" Naruto managed to get out. He looked to the right where he saw Sakura standing there, smiling as well.

"I'm glad to meet you, Naruto-kun." Sakura's mother said, still smiling, her eyes closed.

"Uhm, uh, yes?" Naruto was confused, to say the least. He always thought... that Sakura's mother didn't like him, just like all the other people in the village.

"Don't be shy, don't be shy!" Her mother said, softly patting his shoulder.

"Take good care of my daughter now, will you?"

Naruto quickly regained his posture, only he wasn't as stiff as before. He really liked this.

"Yes, ma'am!" Naruto said, slightly grinning.

"Oh, come on! Call me Emiko!" Emiko smiled and let go of his shoulder. "Now, shouldn't you two get going?"

"Alright mom." Sakura said as she walked over to Naruto, letting him step outside.

"It was really nice meeting you, m- I mean, Emiko-san!" Naruto said as he waved goodbye, with Sakura beside him. She waved as well.

"Bye, bye, kids! Have fun!" Emiko waved, and after they were out of sight, she sighed. Then she smiled, 'Yeah, those two will hang in there.' She went inside and closed the door behind her.

"So, where are we going, Naruto? Ichiraku's?" Sakura asked, as they slowly walked towards the marketplace. Of course, the marketplace was empty, but it was the only way from Sakura's house to Ichiraku's.

Naruto shook his head, "Nope, I have something else planned!" He suddenly grabbed Sakura's hand and took a right turn just before they entered the marketplace. He started running, which made Sakura running too. Thank God she wore black and white sneakers.

"W-wait, Naruto! Where are we going?! Don't go so fast!" Sakura said as he suddenly stopped. She quickly looked around. They were... in the forest? She could see it wasn't far away from the Genin training place. She could at least tell that much. But where were they going?

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto said as he turned around to look at her and let go of her hand. "Do you trust me?"

Sakura frowned, what a stupid question. "Of course I trust you, Naruto. Why wouldn't I?" Especially since what happened last time.

Sakura shuddered at the thought, hoping that Naruto didn't see it.

But he continued and started to grin. "Then close your eyes." He said, almost in a whispered.

Sakura's eyes went wide with surprise but that quickly went away when she started to giggle. "This again? What are you going to do?"

Naruto didn't stopped with grinning. "You'll see. Now... close your eyes."

Sakura didn't protest. In fact, her heart was beating so fast, she wondered if Naruto heard. She closed her eyes, completely trusting Naruto. She could feel something warm around her right hand; it was Naruto's hand.

It was so warm.

"Now, come with me, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he slowly began to walk.

Sakura's heart would stop beating, but she actually liked the feeling. Because she was with Naruto and it didn't matter what she had planned for him. She was with him.

Sakura could feel that there weren't any obstacles, such as trees or bushes on their way, nor a hill they had to climb, just like last time.

'Where is he taking me?'

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto interrupted her thoughts.

Sakura was quickly to respond, "Yes?"

"We are here... You wanna open you eyes?"

Sakura only nodded, and opened her eyes. Strangely enough, her eyes had to adjust. Her vision was hazy at the beginning, but was clearing up quickly.

There was an open spot in the woods, surrounded by trees and bushes. In the middle of the spot, there stood a table with a white sheet clothing it. On the table, there stood a candle holder with 6 candles softly burning. The table was set as well; plates, glasses and forks, knives and spoons were placed around the plates.

And the one thing that made the picture Sakura was looking at even more complete, were the few fireflies that were flying around the table and even in the woods.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Naruto... did... did you... do this?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning. "Well, I had a little bit of help." The one who helped him set this up was none other than Iruka-sensei.

"Oh wow..." Sakura took a few steps forward. "Beautiful..." Sakura couldn't say any more. Who would have thought that Naruto was able to set up something like this?

The sun was beginning to set, and the fireflies seemed to shine brighter. Naruto stood beside her and held out his hand.

"Shall we eat, Sakura-chan?"

"Eat?" Sakura looked at the table, "I don't see any food..."

Naruto chuckled, but still with his hand held out. "You'll see."

Sakura smiled, and let her hand fall into his. He squeezed her hand a little bit and led her towards the table. He shoved the chairs backwards, so that she could sit.

Sakura blushed; Naruto never done this before. He's acting like a true gentleman.

Once Sakura sat comfortably, Naruto reached for something that was, apparently, underneath the table.

"Ah, there it is!" Naruto exclaimed, and reached out to grab it. Once he had, he stood up with a big plate in both of his hands. It was sealed with a silver lid, which matched perfectly.

"What's that?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

Naruto had a slight blush on his face, "Our dinner." He exclaimed. He removed the lid, and on the silver plate, there were two cups of instant ramen, still releasing some steam from the hot water that was mixed with it. He probably mixed some of the water before grabbing it from under the table.

Sakura's eyes went wide with shock, "R-Ramen?"

Naruto's silly grin disappeared. He looked like he was a kid who just got punished. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan... I couldn't afford a expensive dinner even though I wanted to!"

Suddenly, Naruto stopped rambling when Sakura had put her arms around him and held him close. She was hugging him. But... she was also shaking really bad... Was she laughing?

"Oh-hahaha- Naruto! You silly- hahaha!" She couldn't stop laughing. Tears began to roll down her face from laughing. Naruto quickly put down the plate with the ramen and hugged her back, but totally confused.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as Sakura faced him. She was still giggling and wiping her eyes from the tears.

"Oh, Naruto. I love every bit of it. Who cares that it's ramen? Who cares if it's not a luxurious dinner you had in mind? Naruto, the fact that you set this up... It's wonderful!"

"So... you are not mad...?" Naruto asked, much less confused.

"No! Why would you think that?" Sakura exclaimed, her hand touching the side of his face, so that she could look in his bright blue eyes. "Naruto, I love it. I wouldn't want it any other way. It doesn't matter as long as you are here with me, I'm so happy Naruto."

His big smile returned, and his blue eyes began to sparkle, "Really?! I mean... Really?! You like it?"

Sakura only nodded, giggling again by his childish behavior. Naruto's grin looked like it would never end. That made Sakura's heart beat even faster.

"So, should we eat, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, letting her go, and Sakura did the same. She nodded, as he led her to her chair.

* * *

The dinner was great, and Sakura and Naruto talked the whole time about various things. From missions to their friends.

It was already dark and the fireflies were still dancing around them, giving them their light. Although the candles were giving them light as well, but they were halfway through.

"Naruto, the ramen were delicious."

Naruto was still as perked as he was at the beginning of the night, "Yeah, huh?! It's a new flavor. I hope Ichiraku is gonna mix this as well with their delicious ramen!"

Sakura smiled and only nodded. The night wasn't cold, it was just right. A real summer night.

Suddenly, Naruto stood up, and appeared next to Sakura. He was fast and soundless, just like a shinobi needs to be.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, as he held out his left hand. "would you like to... uhm.. dance?" Naruto asked, a little embarrassed. He never danced before, but for Sakura, he would do anything. Even without music.

Sakura was, once again, surprised by his actions. She quickly regained herself and let her hand fall in his. She never danced before, but for Naruto, she would do anything.

"I apologize in advance for stepping on your feet." Sakura smiled, a little embarrassed, though.

Naruto smiled and pulled her on her feet, "Same here." He linked his fingers with hers and he guided her other hand to his right shoulder. There, she rested her left hand as his right hand rested on her middle.

There was some space between their bodies, so Naruto pulled her closer, and Sakura didn't complain. She just looked into his blue eyes, feeling like they were hypnotizing her. She just couldn't look away, and it seemed like he couldn't either.

"OUCH!" Naruto yelled as he suddenly lifted her up in the air.

"Naruto! I'm sorry!" Sakura said as he looked down at him, seeing him do a little dance with his right foot.

"I –it's ok, Sakura-chan. I could have been me who would have stepped on your foot." He looked up at her, one eye closed, but still grinning.

Sakura still looked apologetic, "I'm really, really sorry."

Naruto opened his one eye, "It's ok, Sakura-chan, really!" He still held her up in the air, like she was just a light feather.

Sakura had a slight smile, feeling relieved. She suddenly realized the position they were in, and blushed.

"Uhm, Naruto... You can put me down now..." She almost whispered.

Naruto gasped, "Ah, yes, of course! I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" He put her down on both her feet, but he didn't let her go. He still held her around her middle.

He looked serious, too serious, even for Naruto. "Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Well.. Sakura-chan..." Naruto gulped, loudly enough for Sakura to hear, which made her even more worried.

'This is it... I have to say it...' Naruto thought, and took a large breath. He reached out in his pocket and pulled out the bottle with had the flower Elias' Love in it. Sakura looked at it, and seemed to recognize it.

"Hey, that's Elias' Love! I've seen it in Ino's flower shop!" Sakura said, looking at Naruto again.

"So you know the story?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it's a beautiful story, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded as well, "Yeah... it is... Hey, wait!" He shouldn't dilly-dally with this. "Sakura-chan... The reason I asked you on this date... Uhm... the reason I had you come here.... The reason I prepared all of this..."

BA-DUMP BA-DUMP BA-DUMP

'Naruto...' Sakura began to blush, but didn't say anything.

He took another deep breath, "The reason... I have Elias' Love..." He closed his eyes, and opened again, his piercing blue eyes looking serious at Sakura.

He wasn't planning to screw this one up.

"Is because... I wanted to say something to you, and only to you."

"G-go on..." Sakura's mouth felt dry, and it seemed like she had hold in her breath.

Naruto grabbed her hands, with the bottle with Elias' Love between them, so that they would hold it together.

Sakura noticed that their faces were also a few inches away from each other.

"Sakura-chan... I love you. I am in love with you, and I wanted to say it for so long now. I love you Sakura-chan, and I wanted you to know."

* * *

Lol! Oooooohhhhhhhhh! He said it, he said it! What will happen? What will Sakura say?!

I'm such a bitch for doing this :D

Also, I found it important that Sakura and her mom would patch things up, even though it happened in chapter 3 xD

I hope you liked it and please review! I'm always happy to read those!

OH YEAH!: I made up the name Emiko for Sakura's mother, I don't think we know the name of Sakura's mom 0_o I thought Emiko was suitable ^0^


	29. Love Is An Illusion

Hey everyone! How's it going? Sorry I took so long, I just needed to find some inspiration xD

Do you know that, on August 28th, this story was 2 years old?! OMG! Happy birthday to everyone! Two years, that's nuts! Thank you, really, for making this story go on for 2 years already! Really, this is the 'oldest' fic in my record.

Really, thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 29: Love Is An Illusion.**

'We... both love each other..? A happy ending?'

Sakura couldn't believe what Naruto just said; He is in love with her. He _loves_ her.

Although both Naruto and Sakura didn't noticed, Elias' Love was beginning to bloom in the bottle that they were both holding tight.

Even though there was a lot of noise with Sakura, that only she could hear, it was deadly quiet over at Naruto.

Naruto silently gulped; 'Oh geez... What did I _do_?! Sakura-chan... She's going to punch me to the other side of the planet!' Although their gazes never left each other, Naruto just couldn't read Sakura's expression.

Finally, Sakura opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something. But it was replaced by a sharp gasp when Naruto let go of her hands and the bottle and harshly grabbed both of her arms.

Sakura didn't let the bottle go, but cringed at the strength Naruto had. "N-Naruto... You're... hurting me. Let go, please..." Sakura pleaded, but Naruto continued to hold on as tightly, really hurting Sakura now.

But when Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes, she saw nothing but emptiness, like he wasn't even there.

'Could it be... Genjutsu?!' She thought as soon as she saw the look in Naruto's eyes.

On Naruto's side, it went different. He was waiting for Sakura to answer, which seemed like an eternity to him. He decided he was the one who was going to take action.

Naruto let go of Sakura's hands and the bottle with the flower in it. He leaned forward with his arms wide, ready to embrace her and to never let go.

But as soon as he wanted to do that, Sakura disappeared, just like that.

"What... What happened?" Naruto asked himself, confused. "Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan!" He frantically looked around, Sakura nowhere to be found.

"What is happening...?" Naruto said, as he took a few steps. Sakura was gone, but the area looked just the same; the table was still there with everything on it, the fireflies were still there.

"Naruto!" A scream from behind him, knowing exactly who it was. He quickly turned around, but nothing was there.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled again. No reply. Nothing.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, "This has to be some kind of genjutsu!" But where was it coming from?

"Very good guess, Naruto-kun." A man's voice. A sinister voice.

Naruto turned to where the voice came from, knowing the person. It was a guy, older than Naruto. He as wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. His black hair was in a pony tail and he looked exactly like Sasuke.

Naruto growled; "Uchiha... Itachi!"

"Mh, it seems I was already expected, was I not?" Itachi said in a low and calm voice.

"Damn it! Do you think you can trick me with that genjutsu?!"

"You are in it now, are you not?" Itachi replied ever so calm, confirming Naruto's thought.

Naruto cursed under his breath. It's true, he fell for it. Now he had to get out, and that wasn't easy with Itachi's powerful Sharingan.

'I really hope Sakura-chan is ok....'

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she struggled in his grip. He was strong, even for a genjutsu.

That's right... He _was_ a genjutsu.

Sakura inhaled, and withdrew her right arm.

"HA!" Sakura yelled as she gave him the hardest punch she had ever given to anyone. Naruto let go, and was thrown back with a huge speed.

'I need to be quick,' Sakura thought. 'I have to break this genjutsu.' She was worried about Naruto. Very worried. Naruto wasn't that well trained in breaking genjutsu.

The fake Naruto seemed to be gone, but the pressure in the air was thick.

"I should hurry if I were you, Haruno Sakura." A low and sinister voice almost whispered.

She looked up and saw the same guy that 'caused Sasuke's urge for revenge.

'Bastard...' Sakura thought by herself. She wanted to go to Naruto; she had yet to give her answer.

She lifted her right hand with her thumb, point and middle finger up. She closed her eyes and focused her chakra on one point to break this genjutsu.

"Are you able to break it?"

She didn't answer him; she just concentrated harder.

"You are not strong enough, Haruno Sakura." Itachi continued, but he didn't approach her. Like he wanted her to break the jutsu.

"Shut up," Sakura said, her eyes still closed. She wanted to get out of this. She wanted to see the one person she had such a great night with, until this guy ruined it.

That last thought really made her angry; it was such a perfect night.

She spilled it all out; "I want to see Naruto! I want to tell him what I really feel, I wanna tell him everything! And you are not getting in my way!"

Her chakra level grew, and she felt it. It felt good, really good. I made her feel stronger.

"KAI!" She yelled and felt a gust of wind.

'Did I do it...? Did I break through?' She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the table they ate at. Everything was still in place. She didn't see Itachi either.

'Naruto!' She thought as she looked around. She finally saw him; he was standing still, not moving an inch.

So she was back, but it seems like Naruto was caught up in it as well. She ran towards him and stood before him. His eyes were blank, but he was gritting his teeth.

This had to stop, for Naruto's sake, whatever he was seeing!

Sakura focused her chakra to one point and laid her hand on his cheek. He felt cold; was was Itachi doing to him?!

"Naruto... Naruto!"

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked around, but he didn't see her.

'Of course... this is a genjutsu. Everything here is _fake_.'

"What will you do now, Naruto-kun? You know you can't escape my sharingan."

It was strange... Naruto never looked Itachi in the eye, so why...?

"Ever heard of 'distant genjutsu', Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked, slowly walking towards him.

Naruto shifted his feet; "Should I care?"

"It'll explain how you got into this genjutsu." Naruto didn't say anything.

Itachi stopped and pointed at something that was behind Naruto; "Love... is an illusion."

"What?" Naruto said, as he looked to the side. The bottle that contained Elias' Love was lying on the ground, broken, and the flower itself... was dead.

"You... bastard!" Naruto yelled.

"You are the one who was careless, Naruto-kun."

Naruto growled, and made an, to all known, hand sign. "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Five Naruto's appeared beside Naruto and practically flew towards Itachi.

"Naruto-kun, don't you know?" Itachi said, as a bunshin hit him in the stomach, but Itachi disappeared and apparently, so did Naruto's bunshin.

"This is _my_ genjutsu." Itachi made bunshin's of himself and each of them appeared behind the Naruto bunshin's. With one blow in the back, the Naruto bunshin's disappeared, leaving some dust behind.

"Even my little brother can't win from this..." Itachi's bunshin disappeared as well, but he didn't seem to notice that the original Naruto was still there, along with a bunshin.

In a matter of seconds, Naruto was in front of Itachi with an fast twirling blue ball in his right hand.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he hit Itachi in the stomach. Itachi took the full blow, spewing some blood out. But as soon as the blood hit the ground, Itachi disappeared, leaving many black crows behind to fly away.

"Like I said, Naruto-kun..." Itachi said and suddenly, he was behind Naruto, leaving a gust of wind. Naruto was just about to turn around, but he was too late.

Itachi struck him with his hand in Naruto's back, piercing trough him. Naruto let out a gasp, and when he looked down, he saw Itachi's hand coming out of his stomach.

"Argh!" Naruto spit out. There was no blood, there may not even be a hole in his stomach; but he felt it. He felt his arm pierce through his back and stomach.

"This is _my _genjutsu. And you are not going to get out. This jutsu will drive you insane, it will make you _beg_ me to kill you." Itachi whispered from behind.

"N-no!" Naruto managed to get out, and somehow, his strength was fading. 'How... is this possible!? Is this... what Kakashi-sensei once experienced?'

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed this time, her chakra still trying to reach Naruto. 'Maybe... maybe I used too much for myself last time.' She felt her chakra fading, which shook her awake.

'No, no! Keep going, Sakura! You have to... keep going!' Sakura now placed her other hand on Naruto's neck, while her other hand was still on his cheek. She looked into his eyes, even though those were blank.

"Naruto! Don't you dare... to leave me! Don't you dare! I want you here with me, don't that Itachi win! Come back. Please come back!" Tears started to form, and she couldn't stand to look at his blank look.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto!" She held him tighter. 'How can I... bring him back...?' At that moment, she noticed some light from the corner of her eyes. Elias' Love was lying there, unharmed, unbroken. It seemed like it was shining brighter than before.

'That's right... I still have to... tell him how I feel.' Sakura thought and looked again in Naruto's eyes. She shuffled a bit, suddenly her heart beating faster. She closed her eyes, and was beginning to stand on her toes.

'Naruto...'

She touched his lips softly with hers, letting some tears fall. This was her last hope, she would give everything she had to bring him back.

She kissed him a little bit deeper, and noticed that his lips, as well as his cheeks, started to warm.

'Is it working?' She wouldn't dare to open her eyes.

Naruto held up his hands, no longer feeling scared. He felt warm; what was this?

His lips were tingling and he even didn't noticed that Itachi's arm was still piercing through him.

"Naruto-kun... You are a fool..." And at that moment, Itachi was gone, there was no hole in his stomach, there was only warmth.

Naruto closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around the figure that was standing before him. Her lips were soft against his and he didn't wanted to let go of her.

But they had to part, there was still danger in the air.

They both opened their eyes at the same time, locked into each other's gaze.

Sakura couldn't see to control her tears; "Naruto... oh, Naruto!"

Naruto grinned a bit, a soft look in his eyes, "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Sakura shook her head and smiled.

"Naruto... Naruto I want to say... I..."

'An intention to kill?!' Naruto thought as he quickly shoved Sakura out of the way. They both were quick to react and jumped out of the way from where they were standing. And enormous crater formed from that place, but the figure who placed it, was fast.

"Aww, I almost had them!"

"Kisame... don't kill Uzumaki Naruto. We need his Kyuubi." Itachi said calm, as Itachi landed next to him.

"Naw, that attack would just hurt them a lot, but it wouldn't kill them." Kisame grinned, placing his huge sword with bandages around it on his shoulders. Kisame also had a cloak on with red clouds. His skin was blue, his teeth sharp like a shark.

'It seems like... this is not over yet.' Naruto and Sakura thought at the same time, and readied themselves from their toughest battle yet.

* * *

Ouch, my back, lol. I hope this chapter satisfy you all! I worked hard on it :D

Please review if you have the chance! See you all next time and thanks for sticking with me!


	30. His Action

Hey everyone! Sorry I took so long with this new chapter I was very busy, but now I have a little bit of vacation, so here you go!

I should warn you tough: The story is coming soon to it's end. This chapter will not be the last chapter, however, maybe the next one is.

Please enjoy this one and thanks again for waiting!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

&&&&&&&&&&

**Chapter 30: His Action.**

"He's here..."

Silence, only his echo was heard in the long, dark hallways. Footsteps were heard as someone approached him.

"Who is, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto asked as he stood a few meters away from him. He pushed up his glasses, making it glint for a short time. The long hallway in Orochimaru's lair seemed to get even darker.

Sasuke shot a glare at Kabuto, but Kabuto wasn't fazed. He shrugged.

Kabuto continued; "If you are going to see 'him' I suggest you should not do it. You are not strong enough to beat him."

Sasuke still didn't say anything, and if looks could kill, then Kabuto would be dead. Kabuto started to walk towards Sasuke, a slight smile on his face. Kabuto stopped right besides Sasuke, both not looking at each other.

"Orochimaru-sama is not finished yet with training you, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke clenched his fists, and Kabuto could feel his chakra rising.

Sasuke started to walk away, still not saying anything. This got Kabuto a bit annoyed; "You know better, Sasuke-kun. You _know_ you can't defeat him yet!"

Sasuke didn't stopped walking and only his footsteps were heard in the hallway. But Kabuto didn't stopped either.

"_They_ are there, aren't they, Sasuke-kun? Naruto-kun and the pink haired female. Itachi could kill them, you want to save them, right?"

This, slightly, caught Sasuke's attention, but it didn't stop him from walking, "I am not going to save them. I am going to _kill him_." And with that, Sasuke disappeared into the darkness of the long hallway, leaving Kabuto, irritated, behind.

"What a foolish boy..." Kabuto muttered, as he pushed his glasses up. He turned around, and also disappeared into the other side of the dark hallway.

"Now then... who should I cut open first...?" Kisame asked, mostly himself, as his lifted up huge sword and let it rest on his left shoulder.

Sakura flinched; this is not good. How could an evening that started out so good, amazing even, end up like this?

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered, low enough for only Sakura to hear it.

Sakura's eyes didn't leave Itachi and Kisame, as it seemed like they were discussing something as well. She gulped, "Y-yes?"

"I have a plan..." Naruto said, as he quickly shot a look at Sakura.

"What is it?" Sakura barely managed to get out. She didn't like this. What was Naruto up to...?

"I'm going to distract them... Somehow. And you... you need to run."

"What...?" Sakura couldn't believe what she just heard. "I...I... N-no!" She began to shiver. Scared? Sure. But leaving Naruto behind? No way. That will not happen. She knew what those two wanted from him.

And that was his life.

"Sakura-chan, just listen to me. This is too dangerous. I... I can't let you get hurt."

"You idiot!" She tried not to yell. It worked, as it seemed that Itachi and Kisame were still talking. That could not be good.

"I will not leave you behind! You must be crazy to think that I would. I know the consequences of being a ninja, I've known that since I was a Genin. I will not leave you behind. Never."

"Sakura-cha-" Naruto started to say, but quickly shoved her away as Kisame's sword barely missed them both.

"We are done with talking." Kisame said with a smirk on his face, as he pulled out his sword from the hole he created. At least this one wasn't as big as the crater he made when he first attacked. That means that he didn't used much power this time. That means he is going to toy with them.

Kisame turned himself towards Naruto and laughed; "I will be taking your Kyuubi now, kid."

'S-shit!' Naruto thought as he jumped away, into the forest. Kisame right behind him. "I like a game of tag, Kyuubi!"

Sakura wasn't going to lose, either. She turned her attention towards Itachi, who was just standing there, looking at the sky.

'This bastard... He ruined our perfect night!' This was just what she needed, she needed to get angry. 'He ruined my outfit!'

"Uchiha Itachi..." She whispered as she stood up. It looked like he didn't noticed it.

"You bastard!" Sakura yelled as she clenched her left fist, and within seconds, she smashed it into the ground, creating a crater of her own in a matter of second, pieces of rocks and ground hurling over to Itachi, who didn't moved an inch. Trees where started to fall around them.

A huge, sharp rock came from nowhere, piercing Itachi.

Sakura breathed heavily; she used too much power ad too much anger in that attack. 'Did.. did I get him?'

But the figure that was pierced by the rock, turned into many crows; Itachi's trademark.

"No!" Sakura gasped.

She felt a chill coming from behind; "Like that is going to kill me, Haruno Sakura." Sakura wanted to turn around, but a sudden force pushed her far into the forest, or what was still standing. A rock stopped her from flying backwards, but it wasn't a pleasant stop.

The rock was about to break in half, but somehow, it managed to stand up. A cold, firm hand was placed around her neck.

'No... I can't... move...' Sakura thought as she began to struggle within his grasp.

"I will be taking the Kyuubi now, without you being able to team up with Naruto-kun." Itachi said, as his grip went tighter around her neck.

He was going to choke her.

'I can't get... away... I can't look into his eyes... Naruto..." Sakura's vision was starting to fade, and her strengths as well. She already knew she would be no match for Itachi, but she had to try. She had to protect Naruto. But she failed.

"Naruto..."

"Kage bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Heh, like that is gonna work!" Kisame said as he grabbed his sword as the many Naruto's jumped towards him. They were at the open space where you can see all of Konoha as their stage.

Kisame swung his sword one time around which made the bunshin's disappear. "Aw, come on, kid! Is that all you got?" Kisame said as the smoke cleared around them, but Naruto was nowhere to be found.

"Heh..." Kisame said, and looked around. He didn't flee; that loud ninja would never do that.

Kisame suddenly heard some soft swirling behind him;

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards him from behind, but Kisame knew. He threw his sword behind him and flew towards Naruto, but only hit his bunshin, which disappeared after contact. The real Naruto was really to trust his Rasengan into Kisame's back. But Kisame had different plans.

He spun around, grabbed Naruto's empty hand, and with his other hand, his pushed Naruto's hand with the Rasengan up, so that the blue energy ball was thrown in the air, where it disappeared after a short while.

Kisame didn't let go of Naruto, and pulled Naruto towards him. Kisame smirked; "You really did think that thát worked on me? You still need to train hard, kid..."

Naruto glared at him, and before he could do anything, Kisame's head went back and quickly went forward, making a hard impact on Naruto's forehead.

"Gah!" Naruto yelled as he flew backwards, back into the forest.

Kisame went after him; "Hehe, this is fun!" He grinned widely, as he began to sprint.

Naruto was able to stop himself after a while and landed with his feet and hands on the ground. He rubbed his forehead, which was bleeding.

"Ouch, dammit... That really hurt." Naruto had underestimated him. But then again, he knew he had to train a lot more.

Kisame was approaching, and Naruto had to think of something fast.

"Had enough, kid? Ready for me to take your Kyuubi?"

Naruto smirked, "Like hell..."

Kisame smirked as well, as he had something else that might work to take the Kyuubi from him easy. "Itachi probably killed your little girlfriend already."

Naruto's eyes went wide, "Sakura-chan... Damn! She didn't leave!" Like she ever could; Itachi was still there. Somehow, Naruto didn't thought of that.

Naruto jumped up, ready to go to Sakura, but Kisame was after him. He grabbed Naruto's leg and threw him back to the ground with great force. Naruto wasn't that high from the ground yet, so he couldn't react that fast. He slammed into the ground, leaving behind a little crater around him.

His head was throbbing like crazy as he began to cough from the smoke that was forming.

"Bye-bye kid, it was nice to have played with you!" Kisame said as he, while still being in the air, held up his sword as he fell towards Naruto with high speed.

Naruto couldn't move. Why couldn't he move?!

"Chidori!"

Sakura couldn't breathe; he was hurting her! And she was going to die!

Suddenly, Itachi looked up; "Look who came to visit." Sakura could feel something warm coming from above.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A huge fireball approached Itachi from above, forcing him to let Sakura go and jump away from her.

Sakura gasped. She fell on the ground and placed her own hand on her neck. 'T-that was close...' She tried to get as much oxygen in as she could.

But there was another thought that went through her mind; 'That Katon... that could only be...' She was afraid to look up, but she couldn't help herself.

Her thoughts were right. He was here... He was standing before her; the boy she used to love.

"Sasuke..." Sakura managed to say, her throat was burning as soon as she said that.

Sasuke didn't looked behind him; he grabbed his long sword from his socket and pointed it towards Itachi, who seemed to be unfazed. "Itachi... Finally, we can settle this!"

* * *

Gee, how exciting! Yes, I wanted Sasuke to be there. As much as I find him an incredible douchebag in the manga (sorry, Sasuke fans) I want him... to be... well... not that much of a douchebag! :D

Thank you again for reading this and I hope you liked this chapter as well! Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy New Year!

Please review!


	31. New Future

Why, hello there! Are you all enjoying the (almost) end of school? I am! Sorry I took so long with...

THE FINAL CHAPTER!

That's right... this is the end! I think this has gone on long enough; I don't want to write crap just because I want so many reviews . Remember: it starter out as a one-shot. Now it has 31 chapters ^^ Thank you all so much in your support and I hope you like this last chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Talking: "…"

Thinking: '…'

Kyuubi: **blablabla**

**Chapter 31: New Future.**

"Oh, my little brother is here..." Itachi looked at Sasuke, with no emotion. Sakura coughed a few times, still trying to get air.

'Why is he here...?' Sakura thought, slowly sitting up. Sasuke stood there, calmly, but ready to attack.

Sasuke pointed his sword towards Itachi; "Itachi... Finally, I can kill you! Finally, revenge for what you did to our clan!" With that, Sasuke lunged foreword, both of his hand tightly holding the sword.

"But you are still to weak, little brother." Itachi whispered to himself as he saw Sasuke running towards him, his eyes red. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan.

As soon as Sasuke sword touched Itachi's body, Itachi disappears. Some smoke surrounding the tip of sword. Sasuke turned around, his eyes darting everywhere.

"Dammit, Itachi! Don't play with me!" He yelled, as Sakura just watched him.

But she didn't like what she saw.

Hate. Anger. Coldness. She couldn't believe it. Was this really Sasuke? His attitude changed so much from the time Orochimaru had kidnapped her and she became sick. She still had some hope then. But now... that was lost.

"Stop it..." She wanted to get out of here. She wanted to go to Naruto!

"Itachi!"

* * *

"Chidori!"

A blurred figure, so fast, went toward Kisame. He was in the air, coming down and in his hand a small ball of light, but surrounded by lightening bolds, making sound that would make your ears hurt.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Kisame quickly jumped in the air as the figure stretched his arm out. If Kisame was one second later, he would have been burned to death.

"Heh," Kisame said, as he landed on the ground, grinning. "looks like Konoha's Copy Ninja is saving your ass, Kyuubi."

"K-Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto gasped as he saw the figure standing there, some smoke coming from his hand.

Kakashi quickly turned around to face Naruto, "Naruto! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think so... But Sakura-chan is...!" Naruto winced as he grabbed his right shoulder while sitting up. Dammit, that was one hard blow.

"Don't worry, Naruto, she's been taken care of." Kakashi said, still facing Naruto.

Naruto sighed a bit of relieve, but that disappeared as Kisame ran towards Kakashi with his sword ready to attack.

"Kaka-"

"Nice mistake you did there, Copy Ninja!" Kisame laughed as his sword cut through Kakashi, splitting him.

Huh, no blood.

"I can't believe you fell for that one, Akatsuki." Kakashi said, as he appeared behind Kisame from a cloud of dust, giving him a quick kick in the face from the side.

Kisame stumbled a few steps sideways, almost losing his balance. The kick wasn't hard enough to sent Kisame flying; Kakashi knew that much.

"Heh, I should have known it was a bunshin..." Kisame said, as he wiped some blue blood from the side of his mouth. "This is so annoying..." He grumbled. "I thought retrieving the Kyuubi was easy. There always has to be something that gets in our way."

"Rasengan!" Was a scream from behind.

But before Kisame could react, the fast-rotating ball connected to his body. But somehow, his sword took the blow. The bandages flew off and it sharp spikes were revealed. But that didn't stop Kisame's body for being thrown into the air.

"Goddamn brat!" Kisame crursed. How could he have forgotten the kid? He landed on a branch in a tree not too far from Naruto and Kakashi. He grabbed his sword and began inspecting it. "You are not hurt, are you my dear sword?" Although it had a few scratches from the attack, it showed no signs of serious damage.

Naruto breathed hard. His bunshin disappeared from besides him, and he began to sweat. Kakashi came besides him.

"Naruto, we have to get out of here. Although I hate to admit it, but the Akatsuki is too strong for the both of us. We can speak of luck that Itachi isn't with him.

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Dammit..." Naruto didn't wanted to admit it, but he was pretty beat up. Everything was starting to hurt, while Kisame looked like he didn't have a scratch.

"Sakura-chan... Sakura-chan is with Itachi! We have to... We have to get to Sakura!" Naruto yelled, as he grabbed his right shoulder with a wince.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled, but with more composure in his voice. "Sakura will be fine. I am not the only one who went this way."

He suddenly pushed Naruto away, as Kisame's sword connected to the ground between them with a hard blow.

"No time to talk, ladies!" Kisame said as he swinged his sword to the side, towards Kakashi. It was a hit, but as soon as the sword connected, there was a poof and a log appeared instead of a cut-open Kakashi.

'Feh, again a bunshin...' Kisame became a bit annoyed but the numerous times a bunshin was used. He just wanted to cut Kakashi in pieces, that shouldn't be so hard, right?

Kisame quickly glanced of to Naruto, who was still clenching his right shoulder, and looking really beat up. But that didn't stop Naruto for glaring at Kisame.

'Feh, I can take care of the Kyuubi kid later,' Kisame thought. First, he had to take care of the strongest shinobi here.

And that's Kakashi.

Kisame quickly ran towards the forest, knowing that Kakashi was there, 'hiding'.

* * *

"Sasuke... dear brother... When will you learn?" Itachi calmly said, as he easily dodged Sasuke's sword attacks.

"Cut the crap, Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, as he did some quick hand movements. It ended with two fingers pointing up, close to his mouth. His cheeks blew up, as he had eaten to much.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A blast of fire emitted from Sasuke's mouth, straight to Itatchi. Since they were standing close to each other, it was a direct hit.

"Dammit, Itachi, stop running away!" Sasuke yelled, as the fire wasn't extinguished yet. But Itachi managed to get away. Sasuke knew. Sasuke could _see_.

"Sasuke, you are not strong enough," Itachi replied calmly, appearing just a few meters away from him.

But Sasuke didn't want to hear it; he was so enraged. His anger took over.

"Hyaaaa!" Sasuke yelled as he, once again, tried to attack Itachi. Itachi dodged him with ease.

'Orochimaru is teaching him...' Itachi thought to himself. 'Maybe.. if his training his complete, I can finally give it to him.'

With one fast movement, Itachi plunged his fist in Sasuke stomach, which made Sasuke spit out some blood. Sasuke's eyes went wide, as he automatically grabbed his stomach with one of his hands and slumped down on his knees. His other hand was still holding the sword, as this dug into the ground, trying to hold Sasuke up.

Itachi looked at his brother, again with no emotions.

Sakura eventually stood up, and watched in horror. Even though Sasuke was not the old Sasuke anymore, she still didn't wanted to see him get hurt.

Sakura herself was hurt as well; she had some cuts and bruised and hand prints on her neck, which felt like they were burning. She squeezed her eyes shut and she bent her head down.

'Once again... once again I couldn't do anything...' She squeezed her hands so tight, that they started slightly to bleed.

Everything started out so great this one night. The dinner, Naruto being so sweet, Naruto confessing to her...

"Dammit.. Dammit!" Sakura cursed. She was scared, she had to admit. The Akatsuki is just too strong!

"Just relax, Sakura. I'll help you." A soft but stern voice said from behind her. Before Sakura turned around, two hands were placed on her arms and a warm light emitted from them.

She knew exactly who that was; "H-hokage-sama..."

Tsunade smiled, "I'm sorry you had to wait so long, Sakura." Sakura began to feel better by the minute. Even though Sakura knew some medical jutsu, she wasn't nearly as skilled as Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama!" Sakura blurted out as the healing was done. She spun around to face her, "Naruto! Naruto is...!" Sakura was stopped by Tsunade's hand on her shoulder.

Tsunade smiled at her; "Don't worry, Sakura, Naruto is going to be okay. Kakashi is with him."

Sakura felt relieved as she smiled a little. She closed her eyes; "I'm so glad."

They were interrupted by Sasuke's loud coughing. It seems that blow did more damage then was thought.

Itachi noticed Tsunade standing there, and walked towards her. He walked past Sasuke, who noticed this.

"Dammit, Itachi –cough- come... back! –cough cough- I'm not yet done! I'm going to kill you!"

But Itachi didn't listen. His eyes were fixed on Tsunade, who didn't meet his gaze.

"Yes, yes, stop right there, please." A male voice came out if nowhere. Itachi stopped, as a cloud of dust appeared before him. As disappeared as soon as it came, and it revealed the person who stopped Itachi.

"Oh..." Itachi said with some interest. "Just one more and you are complete, Jiraiya-sama."

"Sorry," Jiraiya shrugged. "We broke up a long time ago."

"I see," Itachi said, as he looked from Jiraiya to Tsunade and back. 'This can be a problem.' Itachi admitted to himself.

'I wonder how Kisame is doing...'

* * *

But Kisame wasn't doing so great either. It wasn't like he was losing, but he was getting annoyed. Very annoyed.

They only thing Kisame and Kakashi were both attacking a and dodging each other. This was getting them both nowhere.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled. Naruto couldn't help him, he knew that and he hated it. Not being able to help those who need him right in front of him... It pissed him off.

He could feel the anger building inside of him. If only he could just...

**Use my power, Naruto.**

"Oh, hell no." Naruto simply stated. The Kyuubi felt his anger. Shit, he was not supposed to lose his control. Not again.

**You can win. You will win if you use my power. You want to, I can feel it. Your anger tells me so.**

"I want to win with my own power, not yours!" Naruto retorted, as he watched Kakashi and Kisame attacking and avoiding each other.

**You have no choice, Naruto. Use my power!**

"Don't give up, Naruto! Don't listen to him!"

'Who...?' Naruto heard a voice from deep inside his belly; where his Kyuubi was staying. It was a woman's voice. Sakura-chan? No... Tsunade-obaachan? No, not that one either.

"Naruto.. It will be okay, relax and keep your mind clear." He didn't know if it was because of the voice, but he felt himself getting calmer. The voice was... soothing. Wait... he... knew that voice, didn't he? That woman... with red hair and a blue dress. She was there as well when he 'died'!

He heard the Kyuubi growling; **Damn you, Kus- **But before the Kyuubi could finish it, he faded away, only to be locked up again deep inside Naruto.

Naruto smiled; he remembered her. "My guardian angel, right?"

"That's right. Don't give up, Naruto. I'll be here, always." The woman's voice faded away as well, and Naruto felt all calm and collected again.

"Whoever that woman is, she knows how to keep my mind clear. I really owe her..." Naruto whispered as he noticed that Kakashi and Kisame stopped fighting.

Kisame stationed himself on a stump from a tree, as Kakashi stood on the ground looking up. They were both panting slightly.

"Argh, this is annoying!" Kisame sighed, as he threw his sword on his shoulder. This was too much trouble for just one Kyuubi, in his opinion.

Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared besides him and Itachi emerged from the cloud of dust and leaves.

Kakashi clenched his fist. Not good... What happened to Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sakura?

* * *

"He's... gone..." Sakura fell to her knees from exhaustion even though just being healed. "Sasuke..." She gasped and looked over to where Sasuke was, still on his knees, tightly holding his sword.

Sakura turned around, looking at Tsunade who was also looking at Sasuke. "Hokage-sama... please, heal him!" Sakura almost begged.

Even though they were, Sakura swallowed hard, enemies, he still didn't deserve this. Tsunade looked at Sakura, with her eyes wide, not believing what she just heard. "Sakura, are you...!"

But Sakura didn't look away; she was sure she wanted him to heal. He can't do much now, anyway.

Tsunade sighed; "Fine, I'll do it. Just this once." She walked towards Sasuke, but not before she stood next to Jiraiya.

"Feh, I thought I came here to fight the Akatsuki." Jiraiya sighed, slightly bummed that he couldn't fight Itachi.

"Oh, shut up, Jiraiya." Tsunade said, annoyed. "Be glad we didn't had to fight. I guess even that Itachi kid realised he was outnumbered."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, but I'm worried about what he said before he fled..."

"_We will be back again to retrieve the Kyuubi. We will not be stopped next time."_

Tsunade heard as well, and focused her gaze on Sasuke while walking towards him. Sasuke was panting heavily. Itachi got him good.

"Even though I don't like this, I'm going to heal you." Tsunade said, some annoyance hear in her stood in front of Sasuke so that she could look him in the eyes, which had returned to normal.

Sasuke glared. Him, being helped by the enemy? Ridiculus.

"That will not be necessary, Tsunade-sama." Kabuto appeared besides Sasuke, picking him up from the ground. Kabuto put one hand on Sasuke's waist while he lead Sasuke's arm around Kabuto's neck for some support.

Sasuke let him; what's the point in struggling? He lost, terribly. He has to train more, he has to become stronger. Much, much stronger.

Kabuto looked at Tsunade and gave a nod. He jumped up and Tsunade made no effort to stop him. They both disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya began as he walked towards her. "Why didn't you capture him? He's still a missing nin, right?"

Tsunade sighed and looked up, to the night sky. "I felt like that was not my place..." Was the only thing she said, and Jiriaya understood.

They suddenly heard a gasp and realised that Sakura was standing up again. She looked nervously towards the direction where Naruto went. "Naruto..." Sakura whispered and made a sprint. Tsunade and Jiraiya followed her, both hoping that Naruto and Kakashi were alright.

* * *

"What's up, Itachi?" Kisame asked as Itachi stood next to him.

"We have to pull back." Itachi said calmly.

"What?" Kisame almost yelled, "Why? We are this close!"

Itachi didn't look at him, "Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama are here. And now I see that Kakashi is also here."

"Tsk," Kisame said, growling. "too bad I see your point."

Itachi looked at Kakashi and Naruto, "Do not be mistaken; we will be back to get the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun."

Naruto growled, gripping his right shoulder.

And with that, Kisame and Itachi disappeared, leaving nothing but some falling leaves behind.

Kakashi sighed, his hand rubbing his neck. He turned around, "Are you ok, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded slightly, standing up straight. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at Kakashi, "How about you, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi closed his one eye, knowing he was smiling. "Oh, I'm fine. It wasn't much of a fight, though. More like stalling for time."

Naruto smiled. Wait, what about-

"Naruto!" He could hear a voice he knew all to well calling out to him. He looked to his left, seeing Sakura running from the darkness of the forest towards him.

His face lit up; "Sakura-chan!" He took a few steps forward, his body aching. But he didn't care; Sakura was save.

As Sakura came closer and closer, Naruto could see that she was crying, but with a big smile on her face. "Narutooo!"

She leapt forward as she dived into Naruto's arm, embracing him. The sudden force made Naruto stumble backwards and eventually losing his balance. They both fell on the ground with a 'thud' but they never let go of each other.

"Naruto, Naruto!" Sakura cried as she nuzzled his face into his chest. "I'm so glad... you are save!" She hiccuped.

Naruto smiled at the pink-haired girl and began to rub her back. He inhaled her fragrance, which was strawberries. "Yeah, I'm glad you are save too, Sakura-chan..." Naruto softly said.

Sakura shifted a little on his right shoulder, sending a enormous pain jolt through his body. "Ouch. OOOOUUUUCH!" Naruto yelled, which made Sakura jump and quickly went off of him.

"Oh my gosh, Naruto! Are you okay?" She looked so worried, like she was the one who caused those injuries.

Naruto laughed, a few coughs in between. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I'm okay. Just a few scratches."

"Dummy! Don't scare me like that!" Sakura said and embraced him again, a but less tight now. Naruto sat up, taking Sakura with him, but she didn't let go.

"Well, some date this was, huh?" Naruto said, slightly laughing.

Sakura softly laughed as well, "And we didn't even got to the best part..." She pulled away, but her hands till around his neck.

Naruto got confused with what she just said, "What are you ta-" But Naruto couldn't finish that sentence, as his lips were occupied by Sakura's lips.

The kiss was soft and nice, very nice, Naruto thought. But wait, Sakura was kissing him!

Although in shock at first, Naruto quickly regained his composure as he closed his eyes, kissing her back. He brought both his hands to Sakura's face, pulling her closer. He never wanted this to end. Finally, he is kissing the girl he was in love with for so many years.

There was a loud cough from behind Sakura and some... snickering?

Both of them quickly pulled away as they turned around, only to see Jiraiya and Tsunade standing there.

Sakura and Naruto blushed like mad; they totally forgot they were there! "Oi, Ero-sennin1 What the hell are you doing? And wipe that grin off your face!" Naruto yelled, his face getting redder.

"Hah, Naruto, don't be embarrassed! This is what a young boy should do! If you want o take the next step, you can always borrow one of my books!" Jiraiya grinned.

"What?" Naruto yelled as Sakura bowed her head in shame.

Kakashi held one hand up; "I already tried that."

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi, "Oh, is that so..." He sounded disappointed. But he quickly had that annoying grin on his face. "Well, we just have to try harder!"

Kakashi showed his thumbs up, "I'm with you, Jiraiya-sama."

"Why you-!" Naruto yelled as he felt a warm light glowing on his body. It was Tsunade. She was healing Naruto.

"Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto said happily.

"Naruto... I'm glad you are ok." Tsunade said, smiling. She can't have her hope die, now can she?

Naruto was completely healed, standing up again. He looked up, and saw that the sky was getting lighter. The next day had arrived.

He felt something soft in his hand. It was Sakura's hand, linking their fingers. She smiled at him, while he smiled at here.

"Come on," Tsunade said, breaking the silence. "let's go home."

Naruto looked at her, a bit confused. "Is it okay like this? I mean, They.. will be back. Itachi told me."

Tsunade didn't avoid his gaze, "Yes, I know. That's why, we are gonna train!"

"Huh?" Naruto and Sakura said simultaneously. Naruto felt a big hand on his shoulder which belongs to Jiraiya.

"That's right, kid. You are gonna train with me!" Jiraiya said, giving a wink to Naruto.

"Really?" Naruto said, his blue eyes sparkling. "Now I'll become strong!" Naruto said, almost jumping with joy.

Sakura laughed, "I always thought you were strong, Naruto." At this comment, Naruto blushed and scratched his head.

"And you, Sakura," Tsunade continued, having the attention from Sakura. "will be training with me. You wanna learn about medical jutsu, right?"

Now Sakura's eyes began to sparkle, "Yes, gladly!"

Naruto squeezed her hand softly. "Great job, Sakura-chan." Sakura turned her head to look at him, smiling softy. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed and quiet sigh. "Thank you, Naruto..."

Naruto blushed once again. It was so strange; He always dreamt about this moment and he is so happy right now. This better not be a dream.

"Well," Tsunade began. "let's all go back home, we should rest up. The training starts next week. Be ready, kids!" As she said that, she, Jiraiya and Kakashi all went ahead, but Naruto and Sakura stood still.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

"Wow," Naruto said as he broke the peaceful silence. "I can't believe this all happened in one night."

Sakura pulled her head from his shoulder and shifted her position so that she could look him in the eyes.

"Yeah, I know..." She squeezed hey hands softly, earning a squeeze back. "But, despite all that happened... This, still, was the best night of my live." She leaned forward, so that her forehead touched Naruto's.

Naruto could only look in her beautiful emerald eyes, not wanting to miss anything. "I guess guardian angels really do exist..." Naruto whispered and he closed his eyes, leaning in.

'Guardian angel...?' Sakura thought. 'That's right! I still have to tell Naruto that I met his mother...' She looked at him, how cute he looks when he has his eyes closed just waiting for the kiss and giggled a bit. 'Oh well, I'm sure next time would be a better time to tell.' She closed her eyes as well, hands on his chest, and locked their lips. Naruto's hands sneaked around her waist, pulling her closer. She loved feeling so secure in his arms; she could stay like that forever.

They pulled away, and Sakura laid her head on his chest. She inhaled deeply, as she smiled; "I love you, Naruto."

**-1 week later-**

"Please take care of yourself out there."

"Will do, Sakura-chan."

"And don't go do the same as Jiraiya-sama when he's looking at some pretty girls."

"Hey! That's research!"

Naruto laughed, "Of course not, Sakura-chan. You are the most prettiest girl to me."

Sakura giggled, "Oh, stop it..."

"Okay, that's enough talking, you two." Tsunade interrupted, looking annoyed. "We have to get to work, Sakura!" That's right; they have to train. To beat the Akatsuki... and to bring Sasuke back. They haven't heard from Sasuke after that night. It seemed that Orochimaru is training him as well at this very moment.

"Don't worry, Tsunade! When I'll get back, we'll-" But Jiraiya cut off when a piece of rock was thrown at him at full speed, making him fall backwards.

"Damn perv..." Tsunade growled as she wiped of her hands.

Jiraiya quickly stood up, rubbing his forehead which was getting a red bump. "Ouch..." Jiraiya turned around, walking away from the group. "Come on, Naruto! We'll have to get going! We are going to train!"

"Ah, right!" Naruto turned back to Sakura, "Well, see you later, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded, gazing in his eyes. "Yeah, be careful, Naruto." They slowly came closer, not really realizing it.

"I will, I promise that on my life, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, grinning.

Sakura giggled. "I know you do." She closed her eyes as she felt his lips on hers, but only for a short time. He pulled away, and began to walk backwards.

"When I get back, I want to eat a lot of strawberries with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved, as he began to walk faster backwards, eventually turning around, running after Jiraiya.

Sakura waved as well, as she laughed; "You're nuts! But I still love you!"

Naruto was getting smaller and smaller into the distance, but the wind carried the most important message Naruto left behind for her.

_I love you too!_

_

* * *

_That's it! That's the end! Noessss! Lol, I'm glad it's over xD This is my longest story yet, and I was getting more and more in trouble about what to write each chapter!

I want to thank everyone who has been following me for the past (almost) 3 years! Wow, time really does fly.

Really, thank you. I couldn't have done it without you guys! I... I thing I'm gonna cry .

Until the next story!

Much love, Mistynia


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